ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF Puerto Rico Research Hub Director Dr. Fernando Rivera said Puerto Rico is making progress in its recovery two years after Hurricane Maria decimated it.

Rivera said the infrastructure on populated cities is a lot better, because there are now stoplights. But he also said money to fund recovery on the island has not been easy.

Some former top FEMA officials who worked in Puerto Rico during its recovery were arrested in a federal corruption case.

Additionally, the Trump administration took $400 million originally intended for the island’s recovery to use for the southern border wall.

The Puerto Rican government was also hit by turmoil. For the first time in its history, a sitting-governor resigned, not once, but twice.

Rivera said many Puerto Ricans feel they feel heard under Gov. Wanda Vasquez, but he also said people are tired of the same candidates by the same party being nominated to positions of power.

He said there may be a chance for a third-party candidate to become governor next year. ​