Mazón admits that "in no way" did he lead anything on the day of the DANA

Madrid"Who can expect much from this individual when he should have resigned on October 30, 31, or November 1, 2024?" With these low expectations, the relatives of the DANA victims approached Carlos Mazón's second appearance before Congress, gathered at the doors of the lower house to demand answers from the former president of the Valencian Generalitat. The result was as expected, with a Mazón who once again shrugged off responsibility and refused to provide new explanations, with an impassive demeanor, in the face of questions and attacks from the spokespersons of the parties of the plurinational majority in the investigation commission.

"I refer to my initial statement" was the phrase most repeated by the former Valencian president to escape the interrogations. And what did he say in his initial statement? Just starting out, Mazón argued that he is exonerated by the decision of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Country (TSJPV) to reject investigating him. "It completely rules out my responsibility," he asserted. Although he was the president, he ended up admitting that he "in no way" led anything on the day of the DANA, pointing out that the justice system is already investigating other political officials as possible parties responsible for the emergency.

The former Valencian president has even claimed that there is "a firm ruling by five magistrates" that exonerates him, although he has never been tried and the pronouncement of the TSJPV is an interlocutory order that discards the attempt made by the judge investigating the DANA at the Catarroja courts, Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, to get the Alicante politician investigated for homicide, reckless injuries, and omission of assistance for an action she described as "negligent inactivity". The judge could not take the step herself because Mazón remains protected by parliamentary immunity as he keeps his seat in the Valencian Courts. In this sense, victims' associations have demanded that he "leave politics now" so that "the judicial process may continue". The former Valencian president took a year to resign as head of the executive—he did not take the step until November 3, 2025—and, in the words of Rosa Álvarez, spokesperson for the Association of Mortal Victims of DANA 29-O, it was "a fake resignation".

"He is better off than before, collecting a salary as a former president, occupying seat 98 without attending anything [...]. It is a true shame. If he does not want to cause any more harm to the families, let him leave politics once and for all and leave us in peace so that we can begin the grieving process that we have not yet been able to start," stressed Álvarez. The same message was conveyed by Mariló Gradolí, spokesperson for the Association of Victims of the DANA of October 29th: "It is undignified that Mazón continues to collect money from the Valencians and continues to lie from a public office [...] He must clarify all his lies and manipulations." Inside the committee, several left-wing deputies echoed these words from the victims, spoken outside the Congress. The ERC spokesperson, Gabriel Rufián, read questions from people who lost family members in the tragedy —"Do you regret anything? Would you change anything you did?" or "If it rained today like it did that day, would exactly the same thing happen?"— without Mazón having responded.

Rufián's intervention was one of the tensest moments of the hearing, given the prolonged silences of the interviewee in response to these questions with a strong emotional weight. The republican labeled Mazón a "negligent, useless, reckless homicide and psychopath," amid complaints from PP deputies, who closed ranks with the former Valencian president and interrupted the interrogations on numerous occasions. Compromís deputy Alberto Ibáñez was also one of those who most raised the tone against Mazón when he reproached him for the messages he exchanged early on the morning of October 29th via WhatsApp chat with his councilors. "Nothing more sadistic, cruel, and useless," Ibáñez reproached regarding the message, known within the framework of the investigation by the judge from Catarroja, in which Mazón asked to "flood the media with data" because that gives off a "feeling of being on alert that scares the hell out of you".

It is precisely these messages—provided to the case by the former Valencian vice-president Susana Camarero—and a letter sent by Mazón to the judge, in which he alleged that there is no evidence against him, that have prompted this second appearance. The former president of the Generalitat has defended that he already sufficiently clarified his role in his previous appearance before Congresson November 17, 2025.