DANA victims accuse Mazón of "homicidal management" from the European Parliament.

BrusselsThe victims of the DANA did not meet with the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, nor did they appear in Congress or the Valencian Parliament. PP and Vox have vetoed it. However, they were received by the President of the European Commission, the also conservative Ursula von der Leyen, and the PP MEP group allowed them to appear before the European Parliament's Petitions Committee, where this Thursday they harshly attacked the Valencian leader and held him responsible for the deaths. "This is the first time we've been given a voice in a parliamentary chamber," said Rosa Álvarez, president of the Association of Mortal Victims (DANA), in a tone of criticism and, at the same time, congratulations.

The victims' representative lamented that they have to travel so far from home to be heard and harshly attacked the Valencian president, whom she accused of carrying out "homicidal management." "Our relatives did not die because of a DANA, but because of political inaction and neglect," said Álvarez. In turn, Mariló Gradolí, president of the Association of Victims of the 29th of October DANA (National Disaster Risk Reduction) disaster, called on the European Parliament to "urgently and firmly" conduct an "exhaustive investigation" into the disaster and the administration's management.

This is where a row has erupted between the PP, the PSOE, and Compromís. The Socialists and the Valencian party accuse the PP of vetoing a mission of MEPs to travel to Spain to investigate the events on the ground and how to contribute to the reconstruction of the area. However, PP sources argue that the left had proposed the mission through a request from a "Galician student" on disasters in general, but that they "are open" to approving this initiative based on the request presented by the DANA victims' associations.

A Different PP

The president of the Association of Fatal Victims of the DANA (National Association of People's Rights) wanted to make it clear in a press conference that, "from a distance," the PP "is not the same" and asserted that the situation in the European Parliament is far from what they encounter in Valencia or Madrid. In fact, although she had vetoed it on three occasions, the associations were able to appear in the European Parliament thanks to the favorable vote of the PP, and Álvarez highlighted the good relationship they have with Popular Party (PP) MEP Esteban González Pons. Vox MEP Juan Carlos Girauta even greeted them. "This is the first contact we've had with a representative of that party," Álvarez stated.

Thus, the PP, PSOE, and Compromís have requested that the dossier on the DANA be kept open, as decided by the European Parliament's Petitions Committee, and will wait before making further decisions until the European Commission publishes a written assessment of the DANA and its management. In any case, a European Commission expert stated this Thursday in the European Parliament that these are not EU powers and, therefore, they cannot investigate whether Mazón violated European law.