The president of the autonomous community of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, refused to resign on Sunday, November 10, the day after a demonstration bringing together thousands of people accusing the center-right politician of having mishandled the flood disaster.
More than 130,000 people gathered at a demonstration in Valencia on Saturday, November 9, to demand the immediate resignation of Carlos Mazón due to his poor emergency handling of the October 29 floods. He is notably accused of having reacted late to the tragedy and of not having ensured effective coordination.
The local daily Levante El Mercantil Valenciano reported that the main banner of the protests featured an image of Carlos Mazón (People's PartyEuropean People's Party), with his head down and wearing a safety vest. Other signs carried slogans such as “We are stained with mud, you are stained with blood” et “Mazón, resignation”.
The participants were called to Valencia, the regional capital and province most affected by the floods, by social and civil organizations, as well as left-wing unions, according to The Country.
Thousands also marched in Alicante, another city in the Valencia region, and several hundred in Madrid.
The left party summer (The Left), partner of Pedro Sanchez's PSOE in the government coalition, demanded on Saturday that the head of the People's Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo dismisses Carlos Mazón from office if the head of the Valencian government does not resign in the coming hours or days.
“Valencia spoke very clearly [lors de la manifestation de dimanche] »wrote the representatives of summer on X.
Despite the protests, however, the vice president of the regional government, Susana Camarero, rejected Carlos Mazón's resignation on Sunday.
Spanish public broadcaster RTVE reports that Susana Camarero (People's PartyEPP) stated that it supported “the pain” of those affected, but insisted that the resignation of the regional leader “is not an option at this time.”
Early warning system controversy
Since the beginning of the tragedy, many voices have been raised to question the response of Carlos Mazón's government to the crisis. Over the weekend, several Spanish media outlets called for the dismissal of Salomé Pradas, regional minister of Justice and Interior, responsible for emergency management.
As reported by RTVE, Salomé Pradas admitted that she was unaware of the existence of a mobile phone alert service (ES-Alert), in service since 2022 and making it possible to warn the population in the event of an emergency severe weather.
While the search for the missing, the cleaning and reconstruction of damaged areas continues, the political confrontation over the management of the disaster between the government and the People's Partythe main opposition force in parliament, is intensifying.
The Popular Party accuses Teresa Ribera
The People's Party took advantage of the crisis to blame Teresa Ribera, current Minister of the Spanish Ecological Transition and future Vice-President of the European Commission for a Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition. The socialist politician must be heard by the European Parliament this Tuesday, November 12.
The right-wing party criticizes Teresa Ribera for having been, according to it, absent at the worst moments of the crisis.
Esteban González Pons, deputy secretary of the People's Party and Vice-President of the European Parliament, believes that the candidate “does not deserve to represent Spain in the European Commission”.
From the first hours of the floods, thousands of people improvised and organized emergency aid to victims in the Valencia region, the most affected, as well as in Castile-La Mancha and Malaga.
In the first days, between 45,000 and 50,000 volunteers traveled to Valencia to bring food and help with cleanup.
Javier Serrano, professor in the human geography department at the University of Valencia, calculated this figure using data collected from civic groups, associations created after the disaster and volunteers coordinated by the Valencian government.
Monday November 4, the Spanish PSOE government and the left platform summer announced a first aid plan of 10.6 billion euros for the approximately 80 municipalities affected by the devastating floods.
This aid plan aims to mitigate personal and material damage suffered by homes and household goods, local businesses and industrial, commercial and service establishments.
The human and material toll of the floods
The provisional toll from the flash floods stood at 223 dead this Saturday, November 9, while the authorities reported at least 78 missing, as well as many bodies that had still not been identified.
Over the weekend, dozens of rescuers — including Civil Guard agents, firefighters and members of the Military Emergency Unit — participated in the search for the missing in the Albufera nature reserve, south of Valencia.
“It’s meticulous work, but we have to do it very rigorously and respecting all protocols”Captain Sergio Hernandez, responsible for underwater research, told EFE.
Sergio Hernandez said the flood had washed away “lots of debris and wood” and that they “combined all resources for real efficiency”including the use of boats, divers and drones.
The Insurance Compensation Consortium has received 116,000 claims from flood victims, 46% of which have already been processed.
According to the consortium and the Valencian government, the registered requests correspond to 33,852 homes, 66,067 motor vehicles, 6,834 shops and warehouses, 509 offices, 2,195 industrial buildings and 23 public buildings.
At the same time, Spanish police sent six mobile offices to flooded areas to issue new identity cards to those affected.
Three family support offices have been opened to facilitate the reporting of missing persons and their subsequent identification, particularly in the municipalities of Alfafar and Algemesí, in Valencia.
[Édité par Anna Martino]
