Despite the postponement of the 2012 Plebiscite results Senate hearing originally to be held in June, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is headed to Washington, DC to meet with several federal officials. The territory’s El Nuevo Dia newspaper reports that Garcia Padilla is expected to meet with cabinet officials such as Education Secretary Arne Duncan and with the Attorney General Eric Holder.
The governor’s mansion bare bones website did not contain the schedule or the purpose for these meetings, although they are likely to concern the federal government’s efforts regarding drug trafficking in Puerto Rico, and the Department of Education’s funding for the state agency, which has been struggling for years, and has recently been involved in a scandal concerning funds used for students’ transportation services.
Garcia Padilla also took part in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade held in New York City. His participation in the event has garnered criticism, ranging from accusation to Garcia Padilla of abandoning his post in the middle of the economic crisis Puerto Rico faces, to rhetorical questions of how he will be celebrating Puerto Rican culture in a state when his party commonly says statehood implies the loss of Puerto Rico’s culture.
