Spain: chaotic flood management fuels population anger, experts say

In Spain, the sequence is unprecedented: King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the president of the Valencia region Carlos Mazón, figure of the Popular Party (PP, right), were welcomed on Sunday after midday to cries of “Assassins!» and targeted by jets of mud and objects, during a visit to Paiporta, a town in the southern suburbs of Valencia which alone recorded more than 70 deaths after the floods which affected the south-east of the country.

The tension on site forced MM. Mazón and Sánchez, who received a blow, left the scene quickly. Only the royal couple, clothes and faces stained with mud, continued the visit by exchanging a few words with locals, protected by their bodyguards. But the sovereigns finally canceled their visit to Chiva, another city ravaged by last week’s floods, which left at least 217 dead, according to the latest report from the authorities.

“Lack of coordination”

Cities in ruins, houses without water or electricity, streets still cluttered with debris… “People’s anger is more than understandable and I think the authorities should not have shown up at that time», estimates Pablo Simón, political scientist at the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid.

«People are furious because there is the impression (…) that the state is incapable of solving their problems. There has been great dismay at the erratic management of this crisis, both in terms of anticipating events and subsequently», adds Mr. Simón.

An opinion shared by Paloma Román, political scientist at the Complutense University of Madrid: “The lack of coordination between the central state and the autonomous region meant that aid did not arrive in certain places when people needed it, (…), which accentuated the unease» of the local population.

The regional government of Valencia, led by Carlos Mazón, from the main opposition party, and the executive of the socialist Pedro Sánchez, blame each other for the failures in the management of the crisis. In Spain, the regions have a great deal of autonomy and for example, for the army to be able to act, as is currently the case in rescue operations in the province of Valencia, the regional government must request it.

Faced with the failure of the authorities to unite, an army of volunteers took over to participate in cleaning operations and food distribution in the disaster areas. The authorities are passing the buck to find out “who should have acted”, thus promoting “l’explosion» of anger of the population, analyzes Mr. Simón.

“Above the fray”

Although Felipe VI and Letizia also suffered the consequences, for many Spanish editorialists, the anger expressed in Paiporta was directed mainly against the political class.

«The king calms Paiporta and Sánchez disappears», headlined the conservative newspaper ABC on Monday, with a photo on the cover of the monarch hugging a young man, El Mundo also believing that the king and queen had suffered “the explosion of anger» intended for Sánchez and Mazon. “Sovereigns have no management power, they have an essentially symbolic and representative activity.”, which allows them to “place yourself above the political fray», rappelle Pablo Simón.

As Pedro Sánchez did a few hours after the collision, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska, on Monday attributed the blame to “very marginal groups», adding that an investigation had been opened, during a statement on television.

But Pablo Simón warns: these accusations should not obscure the fact that the Valencian population is truly “angry».