For months, the island had buzzed with
the rumor. Last week it became official. Characteristically, the man
who made it so was Puerto Rico's Governor Roberto Sanchez Vilella, the
target of San Juan's busy tongues. A quiet, pipe-smoking grandfather
known for his “illustrious conscience,” Sanchez confessed to the people
of his Roman Catholic country that he had left his wife of 30 years and
would leave politics at the end of his four-year term in 1968—all for
the woman he loves. Sanchez, 54, said that he hoped to marry twice-divorced Jeannette Ramos
Buonomo, 36, an attractive attorney who, until last month, had been his
legislative assistant from the time he was elected Governor two years
ago.
However, Conchita Dapena de Sanchez Vilella insisted that she would not
give the Governor a divorce. “It is true that a separation does exist,”
she told a news conference. “However, I have neither sought it nor
provoked it, nor have I caused it to occur.” Problem of Conscience. Sanchez openly courted Jeannette, parked his
official black Cadillac limousine in front of her home so often that
the neighbors got in the habit of gathering outside to wave at him as
he left. Jokesters even started calling the area “Peyton Place.” Yet,
unlike many Puerto Rican men, Sanchez could not bring himself to
conduct a covert affair. It was, he explained, “a problem of
conscience. People say, 'You ought to hide the car.' But if it's
something worthwhile and honest, how can you go underground? I felt I
owed it to myself and to her and to everyone.” It could not have been an easy situation for anyone concerned. While
Sanchez worked in his second-floor office of La Fortaleza, the
Governor's mansion, with Jeannette near by, his wife occupied a
ground-floor office almost directly underneath, where she held court as
the commonwealth's first lady. As the romance blossomed, so did
Jeannette's governmental duties. Before she resigned, she not only
acted as the Governor's assistant but also headed the Department of
State, the protocol section, the Institute of Culture and press
relations. Demanding Respect. Though Sanchez made no secret about moving into an
apartment of his own earlier this year, public outrage at his romance
came only after false rumors began circulating that he planned to
deprive the First Lady of her office and three secretaries. A San Juan
women's club demanded that Sanchez resign and heatedly denounced his
reported affront to the “dignity of Puerto Rican womanhood.” Explained
one clubwoman: “The closing of the office is, in fact, the excuse we
are using. What we really must do is demand respect and consideration
for Doa Conchita, for in her we are all represented.” More than 1,000
women signed a petition calling for Sanchez's resignation, but he
insisted that he would serve out his term. It was still too early to
assess what effect, if any, the scandal will have in July, when the
voters must decide whether they want their island to remain a
commonwealth, become the 51st U.S. state or try independent nationhood.
Most observers were still predicting that the commonwealth plan, backed
by Sanchez, would win.
