“It has been really exciting, given the seriousness of the matter, to see the Valencian people mobilized. The feeling of abandonment, that everything was done wrong, is a shared feeling“, begins Núria Gisbert, who has collaborated as a volunteer in the municipalities devastated by DANA. On Saturday, after “five hours” cleaning mud and debris, she put aside her boots and gloves to get the little energy she had left. , because “it was necessary” to denounce the management of the Generalitat. “The people were all in agreement and the message was clear.: the institutions have not been up to par. It’s frustrating to see how [los políticos] They turn a deaf ear, but we will speak out again as many times as necessary. The Valencian people have to do a memory exercise and reflect this unrest at the polls,” he continues. The march against the management of DANA has overwhelmed Valencia and is even closer to the president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón.
The vice president of the Government of the Generalitat, Susana Camarero (PP), has been the first to try to quell popular indignation. The attempt, however, has failed. “No resignation is an option at this time,” he slipped, and then added that his team I couldn’t waste “not a minute” and demand more “money” from the Government of Spain. Carlos Mazón, who was held incommunicado and at a meal with a journalist during the worst afternoon of DANA, has acknowledged “mistakes”, but has also thrown things out: “High command technicians in a Cecopi do not need political presence; The president is not a member,” he said. popular will give “serious explanations” in his next appearance at the Consell, scheduled for this Thursday.
The spokesperson for Compromís in Les Corts, Joan Baldovihas highlighted the mobilization of the Valencian people: “Saturday’s message has been forceful and unequivocal; thousands of people of all ideologies, people who came from cleaning mud, have said it clearly: Mazon resignation. This Government was not up to the catastrophe; “It is more of a hindrance than a solution to the problems of Valencians,” he denounced. Baldoví has acknowledged that his party is in contact with criminal lawyers and is studying legal actions, to see to what extent “Mr. Mazón’s negligence (…) could have caused fatalities“. The PSPV remains focused on the recovery and reconstruction of the devastated territories.
The president’s management, path to Justice?
The Valencian president repeated this Monday that “everyone did what they could based on the information they received”, but he has also admitted “errors”, without further clarification. Mazón’s statements come two days after the “historic” demonstration against his management and when two weeks have passed since the floods. “The Generalitat has to explain many things. The material damage was difficult to predict, but the deaths could have been avoided“acknowledges Carolina, one of the young people who protested this Saturday in front of the Valencia City Council. DANA has left more than 200 fatalities and about thirty people missing. The mayors of l’Horta Sud insist on prioritizing the reconstruction of the region, but do not rule out demanding responsibilities “when the time comes.”
Lorena Silventmayor of Catarroja, serves Public from the local fire station. “The machinery does not arrive with the desired schedulebut we have managed to eliminate almost 100% of water drains. We also activated a work group with 24-hour shifts to clean the sewers and prevent the solidification of the sludge, so that blockages do not form, because this week we once again have a rain alert. What we have to do now is work; but When the time comes to hold us accountable, we will.especially for the people who have lost their lives and for their families,” he acknowledges on the other end of the phone. The local businesses of the municipality still continue with their blinds lowered and the neighbors work to empty the furniture and the belongings of the flooded basement.
Maribel Albalatcouncilor of Paiporta, agrees with her fellow member. “The first thing is to solve the problems of citizensreturn basic services, and that’s where we are. Later, it will be necessary to demand responsibilities; We will speak with our legal advisors to file a complaint if they recommend it,” he confirms in a conversation with this newspaper. “The people and the Justice will decide what they have to decide“she insists, asked about the demonstrations this weekend in the Valencian Country. Paiporta has lost 95% of the car fleet. The emergency teams and volunteers have managed to clear “finally all the streets” of the municipality and focus now on cleaning the drains, “clogged” by the rains and the mud.
“We are moving forward, but very slowly, very little by little,” he responds to Public Josep Cabanesmayor of Sedaví. The councilor acknowledges that “there is a lack of machinery” and asks for “more construction containers and resources to vacuum the sewage”, aware, however, of the complications, because “all town councils need the same“. Regarding the possibility of taking legal action, he insists: “Everything in its time; First we have to recover some normality, Then we will see what measures can be taken“. The Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community has admitted a lawsuit against Mazón for his “absolute inactivity” and requests the DANA management files. The lawyer Nicolau Workwhich took the limitation of movements during the pandemic to court, is behind the complaint.
Mazón and his spiral of contradictions
This Saturday’s demonstration brought together 130,000 people in Valencia, according to figures from the Government Delegation. The residents and volunteers left the different municipalities of l’Horta Sud at 5:00 p.m.; many, after days of seven, eight and even nine hours collaborating in cleaning tasksremoving the –material– havoc of the DANA. The initial idea was to organize a “silent march”, but the “rage” and “sense of abandonment” of the Valencian people caused a twist in the script. The town hall square It was filled with mud and brooms; police vans and faces of frustration; but, above all, shouts and signs of “Mazón, resignation” in which he was the most massive protest of the decade for the Valencian Country.
He president of the Generalitatwho has insisted on “avoiding” the “hoaxes”, has been immersed in a spiral of half truths and contradictions. Mazón fulfilled his official agenda in the morning and was at a meal until 6:00 p.m., when the torrents were already flooding the first towns. That “private lunch” later became a “working lunch”. Then, we learned the identity of the other diner: Maribel Vilaplana. He popular says that He was offered to direct À Punt, the regional radio and television station, although its statutes establish that it is only possible to access the position through a public competition.
The dance of hours does not work in his favor either: the first version placed it at 5:00 p.m. in his office, but the clock read 7:00 p.m. when he arrived at the Cecopi meeting, where they had to explain the weather situation to him again. Mazón has also initially “thanked” the rapid response of the Government of Spainand then deny the major and reproach him for the lack of resources. The messages spread by himself with the vice president Teresa Ribera They prove that Moncloa made “anything” that was necessary available to the Generalitat.
He Council of Ministersfor its part, has approved a new Royal Decree with 3,765 million euros in aid for families affected by the floods. The objective is to expand the “social and labor shield”, as stated by the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez. The coverage of the measures will be 400,000 workers, 30,000 companies and 100,000 homes. The Government delegate in the Valencian Country, Pilar Bernabehas also confirmed that the Executive continues “working to have new units” and add them to the 13 heavy equipment and the 188 medium water and mud extraction equipment that operate in the community. “Let’s escape from confrontation and work as a team“, claimed the socialist.
Neighbors fear being forgotten
Eva Vázquez and Arantxa Carceller have been leading the company for just over a year. Bookstore La Moixerangain Paiporta. DANA has devastated everything: glass, walls, tables, books and, above all, a key space for the social and cultural fabric of the neighborhood. “The place became a kind of fish tank; It was empty, completely diaphanous, with nothing inside. We are recovering the invoices, the paperwork and the numbers, everything we need to request aid,” says Arantxa in a call with Public. The business had gone through a bad economic streakbut was beginning to make a comeback when, suddenly, almost in a matter of minutes, disaster struck. This November 11, precisely, Bookstore Day was celebrated in Spain.
Arantxa has been one of the 130,000 people who took over Valencia this weekend, to demand responsibilities and denounce the “inaction” of the administrations competent: “People are aware that Mazón acted late. The towns will be rebuilt, sooner or later, but the people who have been left behind… the deaths could have been avoided. The authorities are going to have to provide help in matters of mental health and businesses are going to need a lot of support; Please, do not forget about us when the months begin to pass,” he insists, in a message addressed above all to the media. The fear of being forgotten is a shared fear. Javier Lacorta volunteer in Paiporta, Picanya and Torrent, insists: “The political class, while everything works, keeps going; but when something fails, it leaks. We have been working for two weeks and we have places that are still completely devastated; also people who try to use this tragedy for his own benefit. The only thing I ask of you is that you do not disturb, nor seek, please, to obtain personal gain.“.
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