Wanda Vázquez Garced

This annulled Pedro Pierluisi's government, and reinforced the 1952 Constitution's provisions for succession of government.

On August 4, 2022, Vázquez was arrested by the FBI, on charges of corruption, over a bribery case connected to her 2020 gubernatorial campaign; she had demanded the Commissioner of Financial Institutions to resign.

Vázquez was born in Santurce, San Juan and raised in Guaynabo.

Her parents worked in a factory, her father as a security guard.

Her mother died at the age of 53.

Her father has been remarried for twenty years.

She has a younger brother and an older sister.

She began her primary studies at the Ramón Marín and Margarita Janer schools in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

Vázquez became interested in law at an early age.

She said in an interview that she used to watch TV shows like Hawaii Five-O with her father, which led her to realize she wanted to follow a career along that line.

Vázquez studied at the University of Puerto Rico, where she completed her bachelor's degree.

After that, she completed her Juris doctor (J.D.) at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law.

Wanda Emilia Vázquez Garced (born July 9, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 2019 to 2021.

During the 1980s, Vázquez worked for the Puerto Rico Department of Housing.

She then worked as a district attorney for the Puerto Rico Department of Justice for 20 years.

Vázquez specialized in cases of domestic and gender violence.

She also worked in the Criminal Division for the Bayamón Prosecutor's office.

Vázquez Garced's ascension to the governorship was at the epicenter of a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, in the case of Senado de Puerto Rico v. Hon. Pedro R. Pierluisi; Puerto Rico's highest court derogated a clause added by Puerto Rico Law #7 of 2005 (Law No. 7-2005) to the Constitution of Puerto Rico.

In 2010, Vázquez was appointed to replace Ivonne Feliciano as the head of the Office for Women's Rights of the island.

On November 30, 2016, Governor-elect Ricardo Rosselló nominated her for the position of Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico.

Prior to her tenure as governor, she served as the 19th secretary of Justice, from 2017 to 2019.

A member of the New Progressive Party and Republican Party of Puerto Rico, Vázquez is the second female governor in Puerto Rican history, after Sila María Calderón.

She assumed the office following the resignation of Ricardo Roselló, and the judicial annulation of Pedro Pierluisi's short-lived government, in the aftermath of the Telegramgate Scandal.

She was confirmed and sworn in January 18, 2017.

Vázquez was initially expected to become Governor of Puerto Rico after the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló on August 2, 2019.

She was met with opposition, with critics calling for her resignation due to allegations of corruption and inability to deal with domestic violence on the island.

Protests against her proposed succession as governor took place, the most notable of these being the Somos Más march (Spanish for "We Are More") a title alluding to a popular chant during the protests calling for Rosselló's resignation.

The hashtag #WandaRenuncia (Spanish for "Wanda Resign") began trending on Twitter soon after Rosselló announced his intention to resign.

Vázquez said on Twitter that she had no interest in becoming governor, and that she would take the position only if she were constitutionally required to.

On July 31, Rosselló announced that he was appointing former Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi to the vacant position of the Secretary of State, as the secretary of state superseded the secretary of justice in the order of succession.

On August 1, however, the Puerto Rican Senate blocked Pierluisi from being confirmed as secretary of state in time for Rosselló's resignation on August 2, meaning that he only served in the office on acting basis.

Upon Rosselló's resignation, Pierluisi succeeded to the governorship in a de facto manner instead of Vázquez.

However, as he had not been confirmed by the Senate, the validity of his governorship was called into question.

On August 7, 2019, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ruled that Pierluisi was sworn in on unconstitutional grounds and removed him from office, effective at 5 p.m. AST.

At that time, Vázquez became the second female governor of Puerto Rico.

Vázquez stated she wanted to recover Hurricane Maria relief funds, and review all government contracts to ensure they are managed correctly, free of corruption.

She said she wanted to work with President Donald Trump to help the island of Puerto Rico and its 3.2 million American citizens.

She stated all contracts signed by Ricardo Rosselló would be reviewed.

At the same time, HUD (Housing and Urban Development) stated that hurricane funds would be delayed to Puerto Rico due to corruption, and incapacity to absorb funds for projects, respectively.

On August 16, 2020, she failed to secure the New Progressive Party nomination for Governor of Puerto Rico in the 2020 elections, losing to Pedro Pierluisi.