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 document with the rest of the messages.WhatsApp 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 was an order, or suggestion, he had already 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.

As revealed by the messages obtained by Europa Press, the leader of the Spanish opposition continued the conversation until nearly 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 reiterates at 11:21 p.m. "More or less, yes. They've set up a crisis cabinet that's useless. I've spoken with Sánchez, Montero, and with 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. He clarified: "None of the messages in this chat have been deleted," thus differentiating himself, on paper, from the one made by the former Attorney General of Spain, who was convicted for leaking confidential tax data. Feijóo has expressed surprise in recent days at the interest shown in Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra during 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, and the entire organization and I are ready to help in any way we can. A big hug." With this message, Feijóo began the conversation with Mazón at 7:59 p.m., offering his support to the former head of the Valencian government. At 11:52 p.m., he offered help again: "If you think I should go tomorrow or Thursday morning, I'm at your service," he replied. Two minutes later, he emphasized the importance of communication leadership, precisely one of the issues Mazón had been most criticized for that day. At 11:25 p.m., Mazón informed Feijóo that the first deaths from the storm had been reported: those in Utiel. "That will be a fucking disaster, Mr. President. There will be dozens, for sure," he wrote. 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 his conversation with Mazón, Feijóo also reveals the uncertainty of the moment. At 9:29 p.m., the Popular Party leader wrote: "Sorry, Carlos. I'm at an event. I can call you at 10:30 p.m. We're so sorry to hear you're upset. Deaths? Missing people? Widespread damage? Stay strong, 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."