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Para ver este documento en español, oprima aquí. Pesquera: I Won't Quit The NPP Presidency, For NowPDP Takes The SenateCalderon Will "Renegotiate" Vieques DirectivesRomero Barcelo Ousted In UpsetVieques To Be Acevedo Vila's Priority*******Pesquera: I Won't Quit The NPP Presidency, For Now By Proviana Colon Diaz November 9, 2000 SAN JUAN — Defeated New Progressive Party (NPP) gubernatorial candidate Carlos Pesquera said Thursday that he would remain as party president, for now. Pesquera, who lost to Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Gov.-elect Sila Calderon, did not rule out the possibility running again for governor. Pesquera, who participated in his first electoral race as the NPP candidate, declined to specify any cause why the party failed to obtain the votes needed for a victory. Pesquera made his statements Thursday following a meeting at NPP headquarters with elected town mayors. Similar meetings were to be carried out throughout Thursday with those elected for the Senate and the House of Representatives. The meeting with Pesquera came one day after several NPP senators elected Tuesday held a meeting at the Capitol where they unanimously decided to appoint re-elected Sen. Kenneth McClintock as minority leader, and Sen. Orlando Parga as alternate minority leader. ******* PDP Takes The Senate, According To SEC Official Results November 8, 2000 SAN JUAN - The Popular Democratic Party (PDP) gained control over the Senate as it won seven of the eight senatorial districts and tied with the New Progressive Party (NPP) in the at-large seats, according to official results of the State Elections Commission (SEC). According to SEC data, the PDP senatorial delegation ended up comprised by 19 members, and the NPP delegation with seven, and one Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) senator. Except for the Bayamon district, the PDP won the two seats per district that corresponded to San Juan, Arecibo, Mayagüez, Ponce, Guayama, Humacao, and Carolina. In the San Juan senatorial district, it is the first time the PDP wins since 1968. The PIP won their only at-large candidate, Fernando Martin. The PDP gained the at-large senators, Antonio Fas Alzamora, Roberto Pratts, Roberto Vigoreaux, Eudaldo Baez Galib and Velda Gonzalez. The NPP gained Norma Burgos, Kenneth McClintock, Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer, Orlando Parga Jr., and Sergio Peña Clos. McClintock, who sought to be Senate president if the NPP won, announced Wednesday that he will be the minority leader of the Senate. As of now, the only one expressing his intention of aspiring to be Senate president is Fas Alzamora, but it is not discounted that Baez Galib may work among elected lawmakers to gain that post. ***** Calderon: I Will "Renegotiate" Vieques Directives By Proviana Colon Diaz November 8, 2000 SAN JUAN — Making good on one of her campaign promises, Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President Sila Calderon said late Tuesday that Vieques will be one of her priorities as the newly elected governor of Puerto Rico. Calderon said the "specific measures" to be taken "immediately" include recalling the Police Department Riot Squad out of Vieques, renegotiating the presidential agreement, demanding a prompt referendum on the U.S. Navy's future, and enforcing the environmental findings of attorney Richard Copaken over pollution in the island municipality. The PDP has opposed the agreement reached between President Bill Clinton and Gov. Pedro Rossello, which was approved into law and provides for the Navy's exit from Vieques by 2003. ***** Resident Commissioner Romero Barcelo Ousted In Upset November 8, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - Forcing a disappointing end to a three-decade political career, voters ousted Carlos Romero Barcelo from the U.S. Congress. The silver-haired Romero Barcelo, 68, is a former two-term governor who was in the old guard of the movement to make Puerto Rico a U.S. state - a position that could well have led to his downfall. The elections commission Wednesday announced voters chose to send Anibal Acevedo Vila, 38, to be their non-voting representative in Washington. Acevedo Vila is a legislative leader who supports keeping the commonwealth status. "I'm going to Washington to reaffirm that we are Puerto Ricans first," Acevedo Vila said in his victory speech. "I'm going to Washington to defend the sovereignty of the Puerto Rican people." With 99.4% of districts reporting, Acevedo Vila had 49.2% of votes over 45.5% for Romero Barcelo. With his legislator daughter Melinda at his side, Romero Barcelo conceded defeat but promised to continue the fight for statehood. "Our party's reason for being is the goal of equality for Puerto Rico," he said. "We're going to keep working for statehood." ***** Vieques To Be Acevedo Vila's Priority By Proviana Colon Diaz November 8, 2000 While the presidential race is still too close to call, as Florida goes into a recount Wednesday, newly elected Resident Commissioner Anibal Acevedo Vila said he will work, regardless of who is chosen, to change the presidential directives on Vieques. "It is certainly more favorable for us if a Democratic government is elected but we have the means and the contact to work with a Republican government as well," Acevedo Vila said. He added that the "people of Vieques need peace now" and "with the necessary guarantees." Acevedo Vila added that true to his campaign promise, he will work towards a complete evaluation of the presidential agreement entered into between President Bill Clinton and Gov. Pedro Rossello. The PDP has criticized the accord, which was approved as a law, for lacking "appropriate guarantees" and for leaving it up to the U.S. Navy to set the date for a referendum to decide its fate in that island municipality.
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