Spain regional leader resigns, a year after deadly floods
"I know I made mistakes. I acknowledge them and I will live with them all my life," the leader said
The heavily criticised leader of Spain’s Valencia region said on Monday he was stepping down, a year after the area was hit by floods that were the country’s deadliest natural disaster in a generation.
“The reality is that today I am the focus of criticism, noise, hatred and tension,” Carlos Mazon said in a televised address.”I can’t go on any more.”
Mazon will remain as a lawmaker in the Valencia regional parliament and is expected to be replaced as the region’s leader by another member of his conservative Popular Party (PP).
He has faced fierce scrutiny over his handling of the 29 October 2024, catastrophe that killed more than 230 people, swept away 130,000 vehicles and damaged thousands of homes. He has, however, consistently rebuffed calls for his resignation.
Last week, relatives of the victims shouted “murderer”, “coward” and “get out” at Mazon when he arrived for a state memorial service for the victims in the regional capital, also called Valencia.
Mazon’s regional administration – primarily responsible for the emergency response under Spain’s decentralised system – sent an alert to residents’ mobile phones when flooding had already started in some places.
The alert, which told residents to shelter in place, came more than 12 hours after the national weather agency had issued its highest alert level for torrential rains. Critics allege the regional delay in raising the alarm cost lives.
Despite signs of severe flooding, Mazon did not change his schedule. He went ahead with a lengthy lunch with a journalist and appeared in photos tweeted by his staff attending an event on Valencia’s sustainable tourism strategy.
‘Made mistakes’
Mazon said on Monday he “should have had the political vision” to cancel his appointments and visit the affected areas on the day of the disaster. “I know I made mistakes. I acknowledge them and I will live with them all my life,” he added.
“I have asked for forgiveness and today I repeat it. But none of them were due to political calculation or bad faith.”
Mazon, whose conservative PP sits in opposition to the Socialist-led national government, has argued his administration did not have the information needed to be able to warn people sooner.
“We did our best under unimaginable circumstances, yet in many cases it was not enough,” he said last week before the state memorial.
Campaigners have staged regular protests against Mazon, often on or near the monthly anniversaries of the disaster.
More than 50,000 people, many carrying photos of family members who died in the floods, took to the streets of Valencia city in the latest such demonstration on October 25 to demand Mazon’s resignation.
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