San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz has officially announced she will be running for governor of Puerto Rico in 2020.
“I’ve been thinking for a long time, what’s the best way I can serve Puerto Rico … I’m going to do so by becoming the next governor,” Cruz said. She made the announcement during a speech at the Caguas Botanical Garden on Friday afternoon, NBC reports.
Cruz, who wore a t-shirt that read “¡Sin Miedo!” — which is Spanish for “without fear”, reportedly began her address by discussing her great-grandfather, who worked as an agricultural laborer, and the effects of slavery in Puerto Rico that still linger today. “We have to break away from the chains that tie us down in order to have a promising future and break our cycle of poverty,” Cruz said.
Her announcement also coincided with Emancipation Day, which is an official Puerto Rican holiday that commemorates the abolition of slavery on the island on March 22, 1873. Cruz gained widespread attention in the wake of Hurricane Maria after clashing with President Trump about whether his administration had done enough to help Puerto Rico in response to the devastation.
For the past few months, Puerto Rico’s political sphere has awaited Cruz’s announcement. She will be running for governor as a member of the Popular Democratic Party and will be facing Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, who is a member of the New Progressive Party.
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