Did Feijóo lie about the DANA storm?

BarcelonaThe messages exchanged with former Valencian president Carlos Mazón on the day of the DANA storm continue to haunt Alberto Núñez Feijóo. The PP leader only handed over a portion of them on Christmas Eve – those written by Mazón – but The judge's request is not enough for her, and she demands that he also send her his own documents.To unravel the controversial handling of the torrential rains of that fateful October 29, 2024, the focus has been on... Mazón's liesBut did Feijóo also lie?

"In real time"

"Since last Monday [the eve of the DANA storm], the President of the Generalitat has been informing me in real time, telling me that the situation was very complex, and since Tuesday [October 29, the day of the DANA storm], he has been informing me, as he did yesterday [October 30], that we fear there will be more deaths." Despite having claimed to have been in constant contact, Feijóo ultimately admitted that he did not contact Mazón until 7:59 p.m. on October 29, half an hour before the then-President of the Generalitat arrived at the crisis command center. He maintains that he has not lied, arguing that from that time onward he did maintain constant contact with Mazón.

The role of the Spanish government

"I wouldn't ask the central government for more collaboration, I would ask for some collaboration. Because, as far as information goes, I have none: I only know that the crisis committee met at eleven o'clock last Tuesday night." Feijóo expressed himself with that emphaticness two days after the DANA storm. However, in the messages from Mazón that the judge has already reviewed, it can be seen how the former head of the Valencian government explained to Feijóo that same night that he had spoken with the Spanish government: "Yes, I have spoken with Sánchez, Montero, and those from Defense and the Interior so that they have possible personnel on standby for tomorrow."

The delegation and the UME

The Spanish government's delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, was one of those singled out by the People's Party (PP). Both Mazón and Feijóo lamented, for example, that the Military Emergency Unit (UME) was not deployed quickly. In the messages, however, Mazón explained to the PP president that thanks to Bernabé, they had what they needed by the 29th. "Through the [Spanish government's] Delegation, we currently have what we need, which right now is the UME," the then-regional president said. A few weeks ago, Feijóo reiterated his criticism, comparing the Spanish government's actions during the swine fever crisis with those during the DANA storm. "I think it's great that the UME was deployed to Catalonia to try to help with the swine fever crisis. What I regret is that it wasn't as diligent in deploying to Valencia to try to prevent the 229 deaths during the DANA storm," he retorted. The Ministry of Defense has already demanded a public apology from Feijóo after reading the WhatsApps from Mazón.

Request for resignation

The Spanish government accuses Feijóo of lying for the past year and has asked him to resign. Feijóo has not only rejected this request but has also dismissed it as a "joke." In his view, he cannot be asked to resign "for telling the truth." Now, however, he faces a new hurdle. The judge has given him three days—starting this Tuesday—to voluntarily hand over the messages he wrote in Mazón on the day of the storm. Why hadn't he done so before? According to the Popular Party leader, because he literally complied with the judge's request, which was to provide the messages from Mazón. In fact, he didn't hand over his cell phone—an old one, but one he still keeps, as he explained this Monday—but rather a report prepared by a notary, who handed over the messages by hand. He insisted that he will continue to cooperate with the judge and, therefore, it would be logical for him to now also provide her with the missing messages. Depending on what he wrote that day, he could start 2026 with an unexpected political crisis.