By The Star Staff
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia urged continuity in his government to ensure economic prosperity, while Dignity Project (Proyecto Dignidad) gubernatorial candidate Javier Jiménez Pérez called for the repeal of laws impacting free markets and freedoms.
They spoke at a Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce forum on gubernatorial candidates on Wednesday.
Pierluisi, in an aside, did not offer his opinion on whether the minimum wage should be increased to $10.50 per hour in July, arguing he wanted to wait for the Evaluation Commission’s recommendation.
“Well, to that what I said [was] that the decision is really in the hands of that commission; they are doing a study, and it is based on that study that they will make the decision,” the governor told the press. “It can stay at the level it is at; it can increase by, say, 50 cents as it can increase by one dollar. We are going to see what the decision is, what the justification is for the decision.”
Pierluisi summarized what he understands have been his administration’s achievements in economic development. He insisted on the importance of continuity to achieve the island’s complete economic recovery.
He noted that he kept many of the agency heads that were working with former Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced when he took office.
“I say it, when a new administration reaches office, it takes a year at minimum to mesh,” the governor said. “I stayed with many officials from the past administration. What was said the other day is a lie. Many, I am not going to list them, stayed with me after I evaluated them, but with everything and that I admit to them, [it takes] a year to really get into gear. Here, we do not have a year to lose; here we want this growth to continue for four more years. We want this work to be completed as soon as possible.”
Jiménez, the Project Dignity candidate for governor and mayor of San Sebastián, insisted meanwhile that the first step to Puerto Rico’s development is to repeal many economic laws. He described the island as “overlegislated” and called for the repeal of laws that overregulate human actions and freedoms.
“Let’s change this country,” he said. “If we all join together we can change it. Not with the rhetoric that politics often uses, but with the will that these people have shown. We can do it.”
Jiménez said the government should facilitate. This would allow Puerto Ricans who left for the mainland to return and make Puerto Rico a land of prosperity.