SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jenniffer González Colón was sworn in Thursday as Puerto Rico’s new governor during a normally ebullient ceremony held amid widespread anger over a blackout that hit the U.S. territory days ago.
González, a Republican who backs President-elect Donald Trump and whose pro-statehood New Progressive Party secured a historic third consecutive term after she won the Nov. 5 election, has pledged to stabilize the Caribbean island’s crumbling power grid.
“There are many challenges facing our island,” she said in her first public address as governor as she acknowledged the blackout in a speech to a crowd gathered in front of the seaside Capitol. “That is precisely what moves me to address that first challenge with a sense of urgency.”
She pledged to improve Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, hospitals and schools, adding that she intends to boost bilingual education.
“I’m going to fulfill my promises to you,” she said. “I am not going to govern only for those who voted for me. I am going to be the governor of all Puerto Ricans.”