In brief
Carlos Mazón, the president of Spain's Valencia region, has resigned after facing severe criticism for his inadequate response to the flash floods that resulted in 229 deaths on October 29, 2024. His decision follows public protests demanding accountability and scrutiny of his leadership during the crisis. Amid allegations of negligence, including dining out instead of handling emergency operations, Mazón acknowledged his mistakes but criticized the central government's role in blocking aid.
The president of Spain's Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, has resigned after months of pressure over his handling of flash floods last year.
A total of 229 people died in towns in the Valencia region on 29 October 2024, with a further eight dying in neighboring regions, in Spain's worst natural disaster for decades.
Many in Valencia blamed Mazón for the scale of the tragedy because of how he and his government responded that day.
It emerged that the regional president had spent nearly four hours in a restaurant with a journalist, Maribel Vilaplana, while the floodwaters wreaked havoc and he did not attend emergency meetings during much of the day.
Mazón's government also failed to issue an emergency alert to the phones of Valencia residents warning them of the floods and providing advice until after 20:00, by which time dozens of people had already died.
I can't go on anymore... I know that I made mistakes, I acknowledge it and I will live with them for the rest of my life, Mazón said as he announced his decision, adding that he should have canceled his schedule for that day to take charge of the crisis.
I have said sorry and I say it again, but none of [the mistakes] were due to political calculation or bad faith.
Polls showed that the vast majority of people in Valencia wanted Mazón, of the conservative People's Party (PP), to step down because of his management of the floods.
Monthly protests were held demanding his resignation, most recently on 25 October, when an estimated 50,000 people turned out on the streets of Valencia. Mazón had been making fewer public appearances in recent months because of the abuse he received from the public.
However, his insistence on attending the memorial service for victims on the first anniversary of the tragedy last week angered relatives of those who died, and a number of them berated him during the ceremony.
Mazón seemed shaken by the experience, which appeared to prompt his decision to resign.
His announcement came the same day Maribel Vilaplana testified before a judge investigating possible negligence.
During his resignation announcement, Mazón criticized the left-wing central government of Pedro Sánchez for allegedly blocking aid to his region purely to cause us political damage.
Mazón has become an increasingly problematic figure for the PP, with concerns that his unpopularity threatens to undermine the party's electoral prospects.
