These are difficult days for Carlos Mazón. Public opinion condemns him as the prime culprit for the fury of the “Gota Fria” or “Dana” which caused the worst geological disaster in the history of Spain. While the macabre death toll rises every day (many corpses are found trapped in cars piled up along the streets), the gridiron on which the number one of the Generalitat Valencia has ended up, rightly or wrongly, is increasingly hotter. Lawyer, born in 1974, elected a year ago on the list of the Partido Popular (supported by the extreme right of Vox, a climate change denier), Carlos Mazón may have his days numbered. His faults revolve around the failure to warn about the flood last Tuesday, then the buck-passing on Wednesday which was contradicted by data and videos. And, also on Thursday, the controversy over the delay in relief efforts (the 1,500 soldiers announced are reaching the tormented areas of Valencia and its province only in these hours. And if that wasn’t enough, on Friday Mazón took a slap in the face for having openly invited the numerous volunteers who came from every corner of Spain to shovel mud from the streets, to return home because they are an obstacle to the activities of the Civil Protection. On Saturday the governor also ordered the closure of the access roads to the affected areas precisely to stop the march of the volunteers, receiving thousands of insults from social media where he foments the rebellion. There is the terrible accusation against him: “he wants to hide the bodies!”, and also “help must arrive at all costs”, “he cannot prohibit mobility without declaring a state of emergency”.
With over 200 dead and two thousand missing, Mazón is accused of not having directly managed the enormous chaos that reigns in the flooded area, with poorly coordinated rescue efforts. He was also responsible for the delay in the army’s intervention as Mazón stalled in his request for help. leaving seventy-two hours to pass, while the Valencians dug in the mud and debris with their bare hands. Then the rebound of responsibility with the central government. The newspaper El Paìs throws all his public outings in his face by reconstructing the chronology of the alarms issued by the Civil Protection on the kilo signs of an imminent unprecedented meteorological event, in contrast with Mazón’s reassurances on the absence of risks.
The newspaper El Diario republished the video (deleted by Mazón from social media), in which he makes such inappropriate and absurd reassurance. This is what he said: «According to the forecasts, the storm is moving, which gives hope that around 6 pm its intensity will decrease throughout the community». In reality, the emergency department of his administration had already issued the alert. But Mazón, undaunted in his surreal optimism, declared: «Considering what is happening, things are fortunately moving forward without material damage and without hydrological alert», while people died trapped in their cars devoured by the fury of the storm. On Friday, the socialist Prime Minister Pedro distanced himself from the Valencian governor, who was also dumped by Defense Minister Margarita Robles: “Fortunately, the governor understood that the army is absolutely indispensable, and since then we have been everywhere and will continue to be there,” he said Robles.
Mazón had himself photographed with the phosphorescent bib but very far from the distracted areas on the occasion of Sanchez’s visit. «Thank you for coming so soon, for your closeness and for your timely presence. We receive this as a message with great affection”, he addressed these words to the prime minister. According to the media, Mazón will have to account for why he suppressed the Valencian Emergency Unit wanted by the previous socialist governor Ximo Puig and designed to deal with such a perfect storm.