Puerto Rico gets a new governor

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico's new governor was sworn in yesterday, inheriting a government that is battling a recession, a soaring murder rate, and a deficit of more than $1 billion.

Luis Fortuno, who defeated an incumbent tainted by federal corruption charges in November, took the oath of office at the U.S. Caribbean territory's Capitol. Guests included Dominican President Leonel Fernandez and actress Jennifer Lopez.

Fortuno has promised to reduce the tax rate, create thousands of private-sector jobs, and boost community policing on an island that reported more than 800 killings last year for the first time since 1996.

But the economy will take center stage. His advisory committee has warned that the territory is on such shaky ground that it might not have money to pay public employees in the next three months. In August, the government requested a $500 million credit line from the state-owned bank to pay 120,000 workers.

"It's time to control government spending," Fortuno said.

He asked for solidarity and warned that sacrifices would have to be made.

Fortuno, 48, has been serving as the island's nonvoting delegate to the U.S. Congress. He belongs to a party that wants Puerto Rico to become a U.S. state.

President-elect Barack Obama promised to resolve the island's status during the next four years in a message read at the inauguration.

"Self-determination is a basic right to be addressed no matter how difficult," the statement said.

Fortuno ousted one-term Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila, who is awaiting trial for allegedly violating campaign-finance laws.