San Juan, August 5 (RHC)-- In Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi was sworn in as the new governor, after his disgraced predecessor, "Ricky" Ricardo Rosselló, officially stepped down Friday following weeks of mass protests.  However, the Senate has not yet voted to approve Pierluisi as the new governor, leading many Puerto Ricans to question his legitimacy.

One organizer of protests in Puerto Rico told teleSUR: “What Pedro Pierluisi did was a coup d’état.  He understands he’s not the governor himself.  Notice that he said we would have to go to the Senate.  Well, if he needs to go to the Senate, then whose job is it, the governorship?”

Pierluisi previously served as Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner — or non-voting representative — in Congress from 2009 to 2017.  Pierluisi was one of the key advocates behind the creation of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act — known as PROMESA — which created an unelected, federally appointed control board with sweeping powers to run Puerto Rico’s economy.  San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz is filing a lawsuit today over Pierluisi’s appointment as governor.

And observers note that the Puerto Rican people, where the real power supposedly resides, are still protesting in the streets and demanding real change.