The judge considers that the Valencian government could have avoided deaths due to DANA
The judge states that "material damage could not be avoided", but "deaths could" and that the warning was the responsibility of the Generalitat
Valencia"The obvious lack of warnings to the population" that occurred during the floods that affected the Valencian Community on October 29 prevented citizens from being able to take "any measures to protect themselves." This is what the judge in charge of the case on the management of the DANA says in a document sent to Podemos, the party that is exercising the popular accusation together with the CGT union and Vox and to which the ARA has had access. In the document, the magistrate also denounces the "avoidability of the overwhelming number of deaths" that rose to 227 people and stresses that "material damage could not be avoided; deaths, yes"
In this sense, she points out that "the alert level that was maintained at all times [number 2] did not entail the assumption of the emergency by the central administration" and that sending alerts is a task of the Valencian government. "The Statute of Autonomy establishes civil protection as the exclusive competence of the Generalitat (art. 49. 3. 14a), without prejudice to the provisions of art. 149 of the Constitution," details the magistrate of the investigating court number 3 Catarroja.
In addition, and in another letter addressed to the Association of Victims of the DANA Horta Sud València (ADDHS) and to which the ARA has also had access, the judge describes the notice as "remarkably late." She also believes that it was "erroneous in content," given that it recommended avoiding travel, when "many of the victims died without leaving the ground floor of their home, when going down to the garage, or simply because they were on the public road."
In her letter to Podemos, the magistrate details that she will not investigate the crimes of damage, prevarication or failure to provide assistance. "The delay in aid to affected populations or the lack of coordination [between administrations] must be clarified in other areas, in the contentious jurisdiction, or in the political one" and not in the criminal sphere, he emphasizes. Ruiz Tobarra concludes that he will only analyze possible homicides and reckless injuries.
Support for the judge
The large volume of information generated by the DANA case has prompted the Valencian High Court to announce on Wednesday that it will ask the General Council of the Judiciary for a magistrate and two civil servants to support the investigating court number 3 of Catarroja. The objective is for the magistrate to be exclusively in charge of the investigation into the deaths and personal injuries caused by the ravine. If the request is accepted, Ruiz would only be on call every five weeks, as she is currently assigned.
"Send the alert for fuck's sake!"
As the judicial investigation progresses, so does the information about the management of the catastrophe on October 29. According to RTVE on Wednesday, emergency center technicians demanded that the alert be sent to the population on several occasions between 6 and 7 p.m. The request was reportedly stopped by the then Minister of Justice and Interior, Salomé Pradas, who delayed it until the arrival of the head of the Consell, Carlos Mazón. "Send the alert already!" the president of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, even said to the former minister at a moment of maximum tension. Despite this insistence, the alert was not sent until 8:12 p.m. when the head of the Consell was already in the meeting and many towns were already completely flooded.
Vox does not abandon Mazón
Although the distrust towards Mazón's management does not stop, this Wednesday Vox has made it clear that it will not let the head of the Consell fall. This was announced in the debate prior to the motion presented in Les Corts by Compromís to demand the resignation of the Valencian president. The far-right party insisted that tomorrow it will vote against the initiative. "As long as Vox is there, no socialist or any Compromís leader will govern," justified the Vox spokesperson, Ana Vega. However, and aware of the toll that supporting a leader like Mazón can entail at this time, the extreme right has managed to make the vote secret and electronic. This circumstance will avoid the image of the Vox deputies saving a president as questioned as Mazón.
The person in charge of defending the proposal has been the spokesperson for Compromís, Joan Baldoví, who has accused Mazón of "dirtying the office with blood and mud." The socialist spokesman, José Muñoz, was also very critical, saying that the Valencian president will not fall because of a vote in the Corts, but because of a leak from his own people who already consider him a "toxic asset."
