People in the Spanish city of Valencia plan to hold a protest on Saturday demanding the resignation of the head of the local government, Carlos Mazón, as pressure mounts on him over his administration’s response to the recent floods which have claimed at least 219 lives.
Organisers of the protest accuse the regional government of “a serious lack of ability and efficiency in managing any type of crisis”.
The flash floods struck eastern Spain on October 29th, sweeping through streets and drowning many people who were caught outside, in cars or on the lower floors of buildings.
Valencia, the worst-hit area, is still reeling as emergency services, the military and local people continue the clean-up and search for an estimated 78 people who remain missing.
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With Valencians complaining that the response to the disaster was slow and inadequate, the anger of many has been directed at regional president Mr Mazón, as his actions on the day in question have come under scrutiny.
In particular, his government’s failure to issue an alarm early in the day to people’s phones has been queried. The alarm was sent shortly after 8pm, more than 12 hours after the national meteorological office had issued its own alert and by which time the floods were already causing enormous damage.
On Thursday, the local councillor responsible for emergencies, Salomé Pradas, said she did not know about the alarm system until 8pm that day. She also denied that the central government’s representative in Valencia, Pilar Bernabé, had offered resources and information to her throughout the day. However, footage filmed by national broadcaster RTVE appears to contradict that assertion.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Mr Mazón for several hours on the afternoon of October 29th are unclear. After announcing, at around midday, that the weather event was expected to ease off in the evening, he left his office at lunchtime and missed an afternoon crisis meeting, before appearing again shortly after 7pm.
He has denied media reports that he was attending a birthday party, saying he was at “a work meeting” and that he was “up to date all the time, personally, with what was happening”. According to one report, he was at a nearby restaurant until 6pm.
Mr Mazón, of the conservative Popular Party (PP), has blamed institutions overseen by the Socialist-led central government, such as the army and the hydrographic agency, for deficiencies in the response to the crisis.
On Sunday, Mr Mazón, prime minister Pedro Sánchez, King Felipe and Queen Letizia were all insulted and had mud thrown at them by angry residents in the worst-hit town, Paiporta.
The national leadership of the PP has accused the central government of acting “in bad faith” by not declaring a state of emergency. However, it has also said that “it is up to Mazón to explain the contents of his diary that day”.
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