ValenciaThe former chief of staff to Carlos Mazón infuriated the members of the parliamentary commission investigating the devastating floods on Monday, who went so far as to accuse him of lying. José Manuel Cuenca refused to explain the conversations he had with the former Valencian president on that fateful October 29, 2014, nor did he clarify the contradictions between his initial testimony before Congress and the messages later provided to the case by former regional minister Salomé Pradas. One of the most scathing critics of Cuenca was the spokesperson for Compromís, Àgueda Micó, who accused the former official of "covering up for Mazón" to prevent him from going to prison and thus guarantee himself "the Nescafé salary" he receives as a government official. advisor to the former head of the Council in his office as former president of the Generalitat - around 60,000 euros annually.
Cuenca's responses have irritated Micó, who added that the former chief of staff deserves to "share prison" with his boss. They also angered Podemos deputy Javier Sánchez, who expressed his desire that the former chief of staff end up being "the third defendant" in the case. Both criticized him for deleting all the contents of his mobile phone, including messages and call logs, thus preventing verification of whether he had told the truth. More resigned was the attitude of the EH Bildu spokesperson, Mikel Otero, who refused to listen to "the lies" of Mazón's right-hand man and declined to ask him any questions. This is the same criterion applied by the representative of Junts per Catalunya, Josep Maria Cervera, who, after making a few brief remarks, also withdrew.
In his repetitive and laconic responses, Cuenca explained that he "gave no order or instruction" to Pradas, despite messages submitted to the case by the former councilor revealing that he told her: "Salo [Salomé Pradas], no lockdown," "get it out of your head," or "lock down an entire province." According to Cuenca, these words were merely a "reflection" and were not spoken on behalf of the former Valencian president: "Mr. Mazón did not give me any order," he insisted. Faced with the reproaches and accusations of lying, the former high-ranking official of the Generalitat maintained that he has always told "the truth" and that his cooperation with the justice system has been "proven." "I had no role in managing the emergency," and "I did not give any order or instruction that afternoon to any member who was in charge of the emergency," he summarized.
Statements in Catarroja
Besides Madrid, the DANA storm also made headlines in Catarroja on Monday, where the bodyguards who accompanied Mazón on the day of the disaster testified as witnesses. The members of the security team who worked that day explained that the former head of the Valencian government asked them not to accompany him on the walk to the El Ventorro restaurant—located a few minutes from the Palau de la Generalitat—where the PP politician had lunch for almost four hours with journalist Maribel Vilaplana. They also indicated that the conservative leader returned to the Palau around 7:50 p.m., from where they went to the Emergency Center in Eliana. According to sources present during their testimony, the bodyguards explained to ARA that Mazón had an event in the morning, after which he returned to the Palau de la Generalitat around 11:00 a.m. Later that afternoon, after lunch, between 7:15 and 7:20 p.m., the security team was notified that it was necessary to escort the president to the Cecopio (a regional emergency response center). "Around 7:50 p.m., Mazón arrived. He was alone. He went up to the office and said, 'I'll be right back and we'll leave.'" "This whole process was very quick, and they left the Palau a few minutes before 8:00 p.m.," they added. Witnesses also confirmed that advisor Josep Lanuza and press officer Maite Gómez accompanied the former head of the Consell (the regional government) on the journey. The security personnel explained that the bodyguards had been aware of the lunch since the previous day and that at no point did they hear anything about a possible cancellation due to the severe weather conditions affecting the Valencian Community since early morning, with numerous towns flooded. They also explained that they didn't know who he was going to have lunch with or the purpose of the meeting. They did confirm, however, that it was unusual for Mazón to forgo his security detail, but that it wasn't the first time.
The investigation committee of Les Corts summons victims' associations
The dates have been set for the appearances of the victims' associations before the Valencian Parliament's commission investigating the political handling of the disaster: February 23 and 24. This was agreed upon by the commission's board, chaired by Vox, where the far-right party and the People's Party (PP) hold a majority.
The opposition has criticized from the outset a work schedule that summons the relatives of the victims almost a year and a half after the catastrophe, when it has already been months since the associations appeared before the Congress of Deputies and since the commission of the Valencian Parliament began to work.