Feijóo hands over his messages with Mazón to the judge regarding the DANA storm: "He's taking the initiative in communication"

BarcelonaThe leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has already handed over to the judge in Catarroja the messages he sent on the day of the DANA storm to the then-president of Valencia, Carlos Mazón. After in a first installmentOn Christmas Eve, the Galician leader only provided the investigating judge with the messages he received from Mazón; this Friday he ended up submitting a notarized statement with the rest of the WhatsApps that the magistrate had asked him"Take the lead in communication. It's key. Mayors, provincial councils, coordinated with the people, and you providing information," he tells him at 11:27 p.m., three and a half hours after the conversation began. This order, or suggestion, had already been made half an hour after the first message of the day: "Lead the information campaign like you did during the [Valencia] fire," he had told him a quarter of an hour after the alert was sent to the public. The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) seized upon these messages to criticize him for being "more concerned with the narrative" than "with managing the emergency and protecting the public."

As revealed by the messages obtained by Europa Press, the leader of the Spanish opposition continued the conversation until midnight and inquired about the role of the Spanish government: "The government says they've called you... I hope that's true and that they're providing you with sufficient assistance," he says at 11:21 p.m. "More or less, yes. They've set up a crisis cabinet that's completely useless. I've spoken with Sánchez, Montero, and the Ministries of Defense and the Interior to have personnel on standby for tomorrow," Mazón replied. Feijóo then inquired further about the operation being led by the Valencian regional government: "What time did they call you? Which minister are you contacting?" he asked. The former president was clear: "Through the [Spanish] government delegation, we currently have what we need, which right now is the Military Emergency Unit (UME)."

The notarized document provided by the Galician leader states that it includes "all the communications" sent to Mazón on October 29th and that they "complement the set of messages received" from the former Valencian president. With one clarification: "None of the messages in this chat have been deleted," he maintains, thus distinguishing himself, on paper, from the one made by the former Attorney General of Spain, convicted for leaking confidential tax data. Feijóo expressed surprise in recent days at Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra's interest in this conversation, despite insisting on his willingness to cooperate.

"At your service"

"My friend Carlos. I send all the citizens of the Valencian Community my solidarity and encouragement to overcome this situation. I am at your service for anything the entire organization and I can be of use to. A big hug." With this message, Feijóo began the conversation at 7:59 p.m. with Mazón, offering his support to the former head of the Valencian government. At 11:25 p.m., he offered his help again: "If you think I should go tomorrow or Thursday morning, I'm at your service," he stated. Two minutes later, he emphasized the importance of communication leadership, precisely one of the issues most criticized about Mazón that day. In fact, it was at 11:25 p.m. that Mazón explained to Feijóo that the first deaths from the storm had been reported: those in Utiel. "This is going to be a fucking disaster," he said. president“There will be dozens, for sure,” he writes. The former Valencian president had arrived at the command center fifteen minutes after the alert was sent to the population and had spent four hours having lunch with a journalist that afternoon.

In the conversation with Mazón, Feijóo also reveals his uncertainty. “Excuse me, Carlos. I’m at an event. I can call you at 10:30 p.m. We feel bad. Deaths? Missing people? Extensive damage? Hang in there, friends.” It should be noted that there were two recorded calls from Mazón Feijóo received two calls, one at 9:27 p.m. and another four minutes later, both of which went unanswered by the Galician leader, as evidenced by this message in which he apologizes for not being able to take the call. Feijóo also provided the contact information for the then-CEO of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, at 9:45 p.m., one minute after Feijóo requested it, during a period of chaos on the phone lines. In fact, the Alicante politician's call was specifically to obtain that phone number: "I was calling you on Pallete's mobile. We can't work without Telefónica. I've already spoken with him."