The photo with Mazón that infuriates the mayor of Valencia

BarcelonaOn May 28, 2023, the Valencian People's Party (PP) experienced a historic election night under the leadership of Carlos Mazón and María José Catalá. The PP ended eight years of Botànic's rule in the Generalitat (Valencian regional government) and ousted Joan Ribó from the City Council, who had also served two terms. Amid the euphoria at party headquarters, Mazón kissed Catalá. It was one of the iconic images of the day. And it is precisely this image that Compromís (the Valencian regional coalition) is now using in plenary sessions to denounce the mayor's support for the head of the Consell (the regional government), despite his negligent handling of the DANA (isolated high-altitude depression). They used to use it, at least until now, because Catalá has blocked them. On Tuesday, during his speech at the plenary session, Compromís councilor Giuseppe Grezzi placed a poster on the lectern with the image and the slogan "20/11. Neither forget nor forgive," referring to the delayed issuance of the alert to the public on that fateful day, after two people had already lost their lives. The mayor ordered Grezzi to remove it, but the councilor refused. It was then that Catalá brandished a report from the legal services department stating that posters and banners could not be displayed, even though Compromís had displayed them on other occasions without incident. "It's a tailor-made report that the municipal secretary prepared on Friday with the aim of preventing us from displaying it again at the plenary session," denounced Compromís councilor Lucía Beamud in statements to ARA. In the previous plenary session, on October 28th, Grezzi had already placed the poster on the lectern, and Catalá couldn't make him remove it because the plenary's internal regulations only restrict the public from displaying posters, banners, or signs. Now, she has extended that prohibition to the municipal groups. "Just as the attendees can't do it, neither can we. Or do you think you have more rights than the rest of the citizens?" Catalá angrily questioned to justify her decision, after she had twice called Grezzi to order and he refused to remove the poster. The situation escalated to the point that the spokesperson for Compromís, Papi Robles, went down to the lectern to speak and demand to see the report.

Catalá suspended the session and summoned the spokespeople of the municipal groups. The discussion lasted almost ten minutes. Once the session resumed, Catalá ordered Grezzi for the third and final time to remove the sign. The councilor looked at the spokesperson, who nodded, and removed it from the lectern, but it got caught on his shirt, where he already had a sticker with the slogan "Mazón resignation"I won't give her the satisfaction of firing me. And what her authoritarianism won't prevent is the reality of her relationship with Mr. Mazón," she reproached him. But what is Compromís criticizing the mayor of Valencia for, given that she is the national PP leadership's chosen candidate for the presidency of the Generalitat?

The criticisms of Catalá

Compromís, and also the PSPV, accuse Catalá of closing ranks with the then-president until his resignation, a scenario the mayor claimed she "didn't foresee" a few weeks earlier. In fact, Catalá went so far as to say that Mazón "is the best president one could have" and that "attacking him doesn't help the reconstruction" after the flood. "She was in the front row applauding Mazón's lamentable speech for two minutes during the anniversary of the flood," criticizes Compromís councilwoman Lucía Beamud, referring to the official ceremony on October 29th. Catalá has also refused to meet with victims' associations, and the City Council has not organized any commemorative events, despite being the third town with the most deaths (17) during the flood. In fact, at the state funeral, where Mazón was booed—and which marked the end of his career—she left with the president and didn't even acknowledge the victims. "He hasn't shied away from Mazón, but he has from the victims," the councilwoman charged. ARA has tried to contact Catalá, but the City Council has not responded to the request.

His handling of the day of the DANA storm is also highly questionable. "He didn't activate the flood plan, which mandates monitoring rivers and ravines; he didn't close schools and sports centers; and, above all, he didn't warn the public via social media. He was late, just like the Generalitat," the Valencianist party denounces. The fact that he convened the Cecopal, the municipal emergency response center, at 11:30 a.m. and then didn't reconvene it for the rest of the day is another criticism of his management. Catalá, however, wants to put that day behind him, and having his support for Mazón brought up in plenary sessions isn't the best way to present himself as a potential successor.