Valencia Leader Resigns Over Deadly Flood Mismanagement

On October 29, 2024, a total of 229 people died in towns in the Valencia region, while eight more died in neighboring areas. This was Spain's worst natural disaster in decades.

Many in Valencia blamed Mazón for the tragedy because of his and his government's lack of response that day.

It has emerged that while floodwaters were wreaking havoc, the regional president spent nearly four hours in a restaurant with journalist Maribel Vilaplana and skipped emergency meetings for most of the day.

Mazón's government failed to issue emergency alerts to Valencia residents until after 8 p.m., when 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 cancelled 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 a majority of Valencians wanted Mazón, of the conservative People's Party (PP), to step down due to his experience in flood management.

Monthly protests demanding his resignation took place, the most recent on October 25, when an estimated 50,000 people took to the streets of Valencia. Mazón has been less visible in public in recent months due to the public abuse he has received.

However, his insistence on attending the memorial service for the victims on the first anniversary of the tragedy last week angered relatives of the deceased, and several of them protested against him during the ceremony.

Mazón was shaken by this experience, and this prompted his decision to resign.

He made the announcement on the same day that journalist Maribel Vilaplana, with whom he had lunch on the day of the flood, testified before a judge investigating possible negligence.

According to Spanish media reports, Vilaplana told the magistrate that Mazón was "constantly texting on his phone" and at one point received "quite a few calls."

Mazón will remain a member of the regional parliament, meaning he will be immune from prosecution.

During his resignation announcement, Mazón criticized Pedro Sánchez's center-left government and accused it of withholding aid to his region "just to cause us political harm."

Mazón has become a problematic figure for the PP over the past year, and there are concerns that his unpopularity could undermine the party's electoral prospects not only in the Valencia region but nationwide.

However, the process of his replacement has been complicated by the fact that the PP relies on parliamentary support in the right-wing Vox region. That party, which is leading the PP in the polls there, will have to agree on his successor.