Demonstration in front of the regional parliament of Valencia (Spain) to demand the resignation of regional president Carlos Mazon, November 15, 2024 (AFP / JOSE JORDAN)
Admitting “errors”, but ruling out resigning, the president of the Spanish region of Valencia on Friday justified at length his action during the deadly floods of October 29, also criticizing the central government of Pedro Sánchez and the organizations that depend on it.
“I'm not going to deny (that there were) mistakes,” said Carlos Mazón, a member of the conservative right-wing Popular Party (PP), during a nearly two-and-a-half-hour speech in parliament. region of Valencia (south-east), in front of which around a hundred demonstrators chanted “Liar!” and “Assassin!”.
“I want to apologize” to the people who had “the feeling that the aid was not arriving or was not enough,” declared Mr. Mazón during this speech intended to reflect his reaction to this unprecedented crisis, the provisional toll of which was 224 dead on Friday, including 216 in the Valencia region alone.
Men in protective suits walk on a street covered in mud after a flood, in Paiporta (eastern Spain), November 13, 2024 (AFP / JOSE JORDAN)
“I am not going to evade any responsibility,” he assured, indirectly criticizing the government of socialist Pedro Sánchez by castigating “those who hide behind interpretations of regulatory powers and the fine print of regulations and laws so as not to self-criticism.
“I believe that we have made our self-criticism, I have not heard you make the slightest reproach, even minimal, to the central government of Spain, to its organizations”, he then retorted to the criticisms of the opposition of left who followed his speech.
“I assume my responsibility, but now I expect Pedro Sánchez (…) to be up to the task,” he said, also announcing that his party had requested the creation of a commission of inquiry in the regional parliament.
– “The worst floods since 1962” –
Since the floods of October 29, the reaction of Mr. Mazón and his regional administration – in the management of the alert as well as in that of relief – has been criticized by many victims. 130,000 people marched in Valencia last Saturday to criticize the authorities, in particular Mr. Mazón.
The latter was also attacked by a crowd of demonstrators in the town of Paiporta, near Valencia, on November 3, during a very tense visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, accompanied by Pedro Sánchez.
In Spain, a very decentralized country, disaster management is the responsibility of the regions, but the central government, responsible for issuing alerts via Aemet (National Meteorological Agency), can provide resources and take control in cases. extremes.
Police stand guard near a woman carrying a sign that insults Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and demands his resignation, in front of the regional parliament in Valencia (Spain) on November 15, 2024 (AFP / JOSE JORDAN)
Giving a very long and detailed account of all the events of October 29, Mr. Mazón recalled that that day took place “the worst floods that Spain has suffered since 1962”, suggesting that no one could have predicted a catastrophe of this magnitude.
The president of the Valencia region (Spain), Carlos Mazon, arrives at a crisis meeting of the regional government on October 31, 2024 in L'Eliana (Spain) (AFP / Manaure Quintero)
It was only after 8:00 p.m., more than 12 hours after the first red alert launched by Aemet, that its services sent a message to residents' cell phones asking them to stay at home or return without delay.
But by then, many communities were already flooded, residents were knee- or waist-deep in water, and hundreds of people were stranded on the roads in their vehicles. Many could not be saved.
– “Fragmented” information –
Referring to this red alert from Aemet, Mr. Mazón downplayed its importance, saying that this type of alert had “occurred 36 times during the last 10 years without any of them be followed by sudden floods like those” of last month.
“Many of these alerts did not even result in notable flooding,” he added, deploring, moreover, “fragmented, inaccurate and late” information on the day of the disaster and pointing the finger in particular at an agency dependent on the central government and responsible for monitoring the flow of the Jucar, a local river.
A person holds up a sign with the inscription “8:12 p.m. too late! Mazon in prison”, during a demonstration demanding the resignation of regional president Carlos Mazon in front of the regional parliament in Valencia (Spain), November 15, 2024 (AFP /JOSE JORDAN)
After his intervention, the regional spokesperson for Mr. Sánchez's Socialist Party proposed the formation of a “technical” government to carry out reconstruction, assuring that the socialists would support it if Mr. Mazón resigned.
In his responses, the latter rejected this solution: “I want to assume my responsibility (…) and lead this reconstruction with all my determination. And if I am not capable of leading the reconstruction that Valencia needs, I will I will assume the political consequences personally, by not representing myself” during the next regional elections, scheduled for 2027.
