Mazón rules out any relationship between the sending of Es-Alert and the number of deaths from the dana in Valencia
The defense of the former president points out that the responsibility for managing the catastrophe was of his former Minister of Emergencies, Salomé Pradas
ValenciaThe defense of the former president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, has presented a document this Tuesday to the investigating judge, stating that there is no "causal relationship between the deaths that occurred and the actions or omissions attributed to the investigated parties," referring to the decisions made at Cecopi and the delay in sending the ES-Alert. In other words, Mazón attacks the main hypothesis of Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, which is that a large part of the 231 deaths caused by the flood on October 29, 2024, could have been avoided if the population had been warned in advance.
The lawyer for the former Valencian president further argues that his client was not at any time attributed the condition of "guarantor," meaning direct responsibility in the management of the emergency, nor did he intervene in it, for which reason he cannot bear any kind of criminal responsibility, which in any case would fall to the former councilor Salomé Pradas. Mazón's lawyer states in the document, to which this newspaper has had access, that "no instruction from Carlos Mazón regarding the content of the ES-Alert is recorded" and that "no proof is recorded that his representative [former president Carlos Mazón] gave instructions to determine or modify the content" of it. "No order from Carlos Mazón to halt any of the dispatches is recorded," he concludes.
Mazón's involvement in the drafting of the ES-Alert
The document also analyzes the content of the messages between Cuenca and Mazón himself or Salomé Pradas, former Minister of Emergencies, to argue that the content of ES-Alert was already decided before the former president and Cuenca spoke by phone. It adds that "at 7:45 p.m. the essential configuration of the two messages and their distinct territorial scope was already materialized in writing".
From the messages, the lawyer concludes that "it does not appear that José Manuel Cuenca acted on instructions from Carlos Mazón when he sent his messages to Salomé Pradas" and adds that "Cuenca himself has explained a different origin for his opinions, related to his conversation with Cayetano García", another member of Mazón's team.
The document basically tries to dismantle the instruction of the case and absolve Mazón of any responsibility. The lawyer asks the judge "to know for what specific active fact" his client is being pointed out, since "a dismissal cannot be requested for someone who does not formally hold the procedural status of an investigated person". Sources from the popular accusations assure el ARA that Mazón's document "has no procedural basis" and, therefore, will not alter the judge's instruction.
Political reactions
Diana Morant, Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities and Secretary General of the PSPV-PSOE, has reacted to the news of the statement on social media and stated that "almost two years later, they are still unable to recognize the obvious: they arrived late when it mattered most" and that "denying reality does not bring anything back, but it makes it clear that there are those who still do not want to assume their responsibility".
On the other hand, Joan Baldoví, spokesperson for Compromís in the Valencian Courts, has called the former president "cowardly and miserable".