Former leader of the Spanish region of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, testified in parliament on Monday regarding last year's floods that claimed 229 lives, assuring that the authorities were unaware of the scale of the disaster. This was reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
Mazón, who announced his resignation on November 3 under pressure from across the political spectrum, answered questions about the authorities' actions during the flood on October 29, 2024. The leader of the left-wing Podemos party accused him of personal responsibility for the deaths, and a spokesperson for the Catalan ERC party said he should be imprisoned. Relatives of the victims and those affected by the floods followed the interrogation near the lower house in Madrid.
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No one knew the scale, no one knew that people were drowning
He did not provide new details about his whereabouts during the crisis, including dining at a restaurant and a period when his bodyguards were absent. "I cannot say exactly about the precise time," he added.
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Mazón also stated that "nothing would have changed" if he had left dinner and arrived earlier at the crisis management committee meeting, previously blaming the central government for lack of support. During his resignation, he admitted mistakes and noted that he "will have to live with them for the rest of his life." Mazón's successor has not yet been sworn in; he is expected to be replaced by a candidate from the People's Party.