VALENCIA, Spain: The head of the Spanish region affected by devastating floods in the country admitted to mistakes and apologised on Friday but rejected calls for his resignation.
The October 29 flood claimed 224 lives nationwide 216 in the eastern Valencia region — wrecked infrastructure, gutted buildings and submerged fields in damage costing tens of billions of euros.
Outrage at the authorities for their perceived mismanagement before and after the floods has coursed through Spain, piling particular pressure on the Valencia region’s conservative leader Carlos Mazon.
“I’m not going to deny mistakes” or “shirk any responsibility”, Mazon told Valencia’s regional parliament on Friday.
Many residents living in towns have complained they were left without food and water for days and relied on volunteers instead of the government for aid.
As regional president, “I would like to apologise” to those who felt “the aid did not arrive or was not enough,” Mazon added.
As he spoke, dozens of protesters gathered outside the building, jeering and chanting slogans demanding his resignation.
The Socialist central government has insisted urgent rescue and reconstruction work must take precedence over investigating the state’s shortcomings and demanding immediate political accountability.
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Critics have questioned the efficiency of the Valencia region’s alert system, which in some cases only reached residents’ telephones when floodwater was already gushing through towns.
The central government has said local administration bore responsibility for not issuing the alert earlier.
He said he accepted “my responsibility” and called on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to be “up to the task”.
Mazon has also come under fire for having been missing for several critical hours on the afternoon of the disaster when it was already raining heavily. AFP
