The heavily criticised leader of Spain’s Valencia region said Monday he was stepping down, a year after floods hit the area in 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, adding: “I can’t go on anymore.”
Mazon has faced fierce scrutiny over his handling of the October 29, 2024, catastrophe that killed more than 230 people, consistently rebuffing calls for his resignation.
Last week, relatives of the victims shouted “murderer”, “coward,” and “get out” at Mazon as he arrived for a state memorial service for the victims in the Mediterranean city of Valencia.
Mazon’s regional administration — primarily responsible for the emergency response under Spain’s decentralised system — sent alerts to residents’ mobile phones when flooding had already started in some places.
The alert also came more than 12 hours after the national weather agency had issued its highest alert level for torrential rains.
Despite signs of severe flooding, Mazon went ahead with a long lunch with a journalist on the day of the catastrophe.
On Monday, he said that he “should have cancelled my appointments.”
He has defended his handling of the crisis, saying its magnitude was unforeseeable and that central authorities did not provide sufficient warning about the severity of the rain.
AFP