Feijóo defends Mazón before victims of the DANA and tells them that he cannot (nor does he want to) dismiss him.

MadridNine months ago Carlos Mazón became One of Alberto Núñez Feijóo's main problemsThe controversial handling of the DANA (National Action Plan) on October 29 in the Valencian Community and the subsequent judicial investigation into the events have left the PP leader's support for the president of the Generalitat Valenciana hanging in the balance. Although his continuity in the next electoral cycle is up in the air, Feijóo has gradually rehabilitated the controversial figure of Mazón, whom both relatives of victims of the tragedy and a relevant part of Valencian civil society and the opposition are still demanding to resign, as seen with the ninth victim. In parallel to the reinstatement of the Valencian president at party events –he was initially pushed aside without explicit acknowledgment–, the PP president met for the first time this Wednesday with victims of the DANA at the PP headquarters in Madrid and closed ranks with Mazón in front of them.

The meeting took place at the request of one of the three most representative associations, the Horta Sud-València Association of Victims of DANA, which in early July requested a meeting with Feijóo after failing to arrange a meeting with the Valencian president. "Mazón shouldn't be the president of the Generalitat," the PP leader was told during the meeting, which lasted more than two hours, as he explained upon leaving. Christian Lesaec, president of the entity. In a press conference outside Génova, Lesaec reported that Feijóo defended Mazón's continued presence, although he acknowledged that the Valencian Government "was not right." The PP leader argued that responsibility for the tragedy rests with the Spanish government, accusing it of having "left Mazón alone" by not declaring a national emergency and taking control of the situation.

"We have informed him that many of our members think he should dismiss Mazón, but his response has been that he cannot dismiss him. And, furthermore, he sincerely believes that this should not be the case because the management did not fall entirely under the President of the Valencian Government," explained the association's president. Despite the differences, the meeting had a "cordial tone," and Feijóo asked the members of the Association of Victims of the DANA Horta Sud-València to "make the effort" to also meet with Mazón. Lesaec responded that the conditions are not met because there is "a lot of mistrust" toward the Valencian president among its members and because Mazón rejected one of the conditions placed on the victims for holding the meeting: that it be held in the presence of the media.

"He understands that this mistrust is unfair," said the association's president regarding Feijóo's position, who met with them behind closed doors without allowing the press to enter. The PP subsequently distributed some photographs. The recording of images of the first meeting of a PP leader with the majority victims' associations was allowed, which It was held in Brussels with the Valencian MEP Esteban González Pons, who follows a different line from Mazón and asked them for forgiveness on a personal level.

The differences between entities

Prior to this meeting, Feijóo also met with another, less representative organization, which brings together "around 70" victims' families. This organization was originally linked to the DANA (National Action Party of the Valencian People's Party) and met with Mazón on March 27. The decision by its president, Joaquín Amills, to meet with the president of the Valencian Generalitat (Generalitat Valenciana), led the families of 38 of the 229 victims to disassociate themselves from the organization. In this case, SOS Desaparecidos did not request the meeting this Wednesday; it was the PP (People's Party) that invited them. This organization, however, did not meet with Pedro Sánchez on May 22 in Valencia. The Spanish Prime Minister met jointly with the Association of Victims of the DANA Horta Sud-València and the other two major organizations—the Association of Victims of the DANA 29-O and the Association of Victims of the DANA 29 October—with whom Mazón also did not meet.

Amills, who criticized Sánchez for not calling them, defended a position more aligned with the PP. "It would be tremendously irresponsible to ask for Mazón's resignation," he said upon leaving a meeting he considered "constructive." According to the president of SOS Desaparecidos, "now is not the time" for the president of the Generalitat to back down because "this is not the time to paralyze reconstruction," and justice must be allowed to act when it comes to determining responsibility. Feijóo has linked Mazón's future to these reconstruction efforts, and the PP's general secretary, Miguel Tellado, argued on Antena 3 before the meetings that the Valencian president has been "on the ball from the very beginning" after the DANA occurred to overcome its consequences.

They demand greater coordination

Both entities agreed on a call for greater coordination between administrations. Feijóo pledged to call Mazón to urge him to negotiate with the Spanish government on how to improve the situation. This Wednesday, the Valencian president defended his focus on rebuilding the Valencian Community after the catastrophe and criticized Sánchez's administration for "not wanting to speed it up." "We have been waiting for a joint commission for nine months," he argued, and accused the Spanish government of "dragging its feet because it doesn't want to coordinate." Another demand from the representatives of the victims of the DANA was to reduce the "political tension" surrounding this issue.