Son of former Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Rossello and founder of the ¡Boricua Ahora Es! movement, Ricardo Rossello has been making moves in the nation’s capital. Rossello, long rumored to be a potential candidate in 2016 for the governorship of Puerto Rico, has begun an active lobbying campaign with members of Congress.
Rossello himself has been promoting his efforts which include the Respeta mi Voto (Respect my Vote) initiative, with tweets showcasing meetings with representatives as he did today with Representative Trey Radel, Republican from Florida.
Con el congresista @treyradel (FL, R) #RespetaMiVoto pic.twitter.com/vstpctUNuB
— Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) June 4, 2013
These moves come as the 2016 race for the governorship gets into full gear, as has been noted previously. Several media reports are pointing out the tension between the Pierluisi and Rossello camps, which has even infiltrated statehood organizations like the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association, where Rossello’s candidate prevailed.
It is of note that Rossello’s efforts are not in support of Pierluisi’s HR 2000 bill, but focus solely on defending the results of the November 2012 plebiscite. Pierluisi on the other hand has been working for more cosponsors for HR 2000, while participating in events in defense of the plebiscite results.
While officially both deny being focused on their personal aspirations, it seems as if the media has understood the 2016 elections process to have begun already.