Feijóo and Mazón avoid each other at the European People's Party (PP) congress in Valencia.

ValenciaWith Feijóo at the end of the day, but without Mazón. With many references to the power outage, but with very few reminders of the DANA (National Action Plan for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). None in the speech by the president of the Spanish conservatives, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who preferred to attack Pedro Sánchez for the energy crisis. This is the assessment of the first day of the European People's Party (PP) congress, held this Tuesday in Valencia, on the day that marks six months since the floods that caused 228 deaths in the Valencian Community alone on October 29.

The catastrophe was remembered at two gatherings. A small one at the gates of the Valencia Fair, the venue that hosts the congress, and a massive one next to the City of Arts and Sciences, the pharaonic project by architect Santiago Calatrava that hosted the gala dinner for European conservatives, including some as prominent as the head of the European Commission, Ursula Merz. Also present were the President and Vice President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola of Malta and Esteban González Pons of Valencia. The only two who have mentioned the DANA in their parliaments. They did not do so. The re-elected president of the European People's Party, the German Manfred Weber, which will place Catalan Dolors Montserrat, spokesperson for the Conservatives in the European Parliament, as the party's number two.

At a conference dominated by a discourse calling for more security, greater deregulation, and stricter immigration controls, Weber ignored the DANA, preferring to talk about the energy crisis and thanking the Spanish airport services for their work. "BK_SLT_LNA~" can do so "because the official information" available to it so far "is neither clear nor verified."

Without the uncomfortable Mazón

With Mazón's absence, the conservatives have avoided the awkwardness of sharing the floor with a Valencian president who is highly criticized politically and has an open legal case directly affecting members of his government. This is what the relatives of victims of the DANA (National Anti-Drug Traffic Accident) reminded them when they shouted "not six accomplices," referring to the conservatives' support for the Valencian president.

The visit by the head of the Consell (Consell) could take place this Wednesday, after the Valencian Community left emergency level 3 on Tuesday night. The visit should take place early in the morning, as Mazón will travel to the United States to lead a mission to assess the impact of a tariff increase on strategic sectors in the Valencian Community. The president's agenda could again prevent the Alicante politician from taking a photo with Feijóo, who will be in charge of closing the congress at noon.

This Tuesday afternoon, while the European Conservatives were still meeting, thousands of citizens took part in the protest commemorating the six months of the DANA. Slogans were chanted, some in English, such as They are not dead, they are murdered, Popular Party, Criminal Party either The president in Picassent.

The victims' families have displayed a banner with the phrase Our relatives have died because of your incompetence. Murderers, and on their behalf, Rosa Álvarez, president of the 29th of October Mortal Victims Association, has defended their desire to "have a voice" so that they are not forgotten. He criticized Mazón for requesting a level 3 emergency due to a blackout. and that he didn't do so on October 29th, when there was no electricity, water, or food, and they had "dead bodies at home without being able to get them out." He also insisted that his relatives didn't die due to atmospheric phenomena, but rather "due to negligence and lack of foresight." The protest coincided this Tuesday with the new suspension of the testimony of the president of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, due to the power outage.

No meeting with Von der Leyen

Despite her visit to Valencia, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has not agreed to meet with the families of the victims. She will, however, meet in Brussels, at a meeting that could take place on May 13. The German politician will not respond to the request of two affected organizations—the Association of Mortal Victims DANA 29-O and the Association of Victims 29—who had requested to meet with the head of the European Commission in Valencia.