The PSOE is trying to turn the fires into a new Mazón case against the PP.

MadridThere is no climate catastrophe that escapes political controversy, be it a DANA in the Valencian Country or a series of simultaneous fires in the In recent days, hectares of Galicia, Castile and León, the Community of Madrid and Andalusia have been burned.. Those that have occurred in León - in the Bierzo region - and in Zamora have taken a good part of the attention, especially because the president of the region, Alfonso Fernández-Mañueco, took a few days to interrupt his vacation in Cádiz and his Minister of the Environment, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, justified it by saying that it was his lunch habit." Within the PSOE, some have already sought comparisons with the El Ventorro episode of the Valencian president, Carlos Mazón, but the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, counterattacked by assuring in an interview with Europa Press that the Spanish government "is still on vacation" despite the fires.

It is no coincidence that the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, former mayor of Valladolid, has been the most belligerent against the president of his autonomous community, considering that it will be the first place to hold elections in early 2026. True to his combative style on social media social, Puente has been hit by Mañueco. "There's no misfortune that doesn't hit them partying. And that's not the worst part. The worst thing is that five days after the fires started and four days after the Cecopio was being called, one hasn't returned from Cádiz and the other is going to Gijón to eat. This is the drama, not one tweet or two hundred. Shameless. Shortly before, he had deleted a tweet in which, in reference to the fire in Tarifa, Andalusia, he said: "This one is closer to Mañueco than the ones in Castilla y León. Maybe he can lend a hand to Juanma [Moreno Bonilla, president of Andalusia]." The head of the Castilla y León executive stated this Wednesday that he does not want to "lower himself to respond to frivolous politics that uses the suffering and pain of the people as electoralism."

Puente himself spoke this Wednesday for the first time since the controversy erupted and has become entrenched. "I have expressed my indignation, and some of us express it in one way and others in another. I am the one who is most infuriated," argued the Minister of Transport, who asked not to dwell on this, but rather on the "pattern of behavior" of arriving late that, he says, the PP has when catastrophes occur. "They catch us working, on the front line. Ask if this also happens with all governments of all stripes," added the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, who appeared from Almería alongside Puente. The official PSOE account had to delete a tweet on Tuesday in which it denounced the absence of the PP regional presidents and attached a photograph of Mazón, Mañueco, and the Galician president, Alfonso Rueda, from last year.

Contrast of models

With different shades and some errors, what has become clear is that the PSOE has decided that the fires are an opportunity to wear down the men of the PP, now that an electoral cycle with regional elections is approaching and, at the national level, Pedro Sánchez's party is going through a critical moment due to the unforeseen corruption case involving the former number three, Santos Cerdán. In recent hours, it has become clear how the simultaneous fires have caught emergency teams in some regions off guard, which have had to request assistance from the Spanish government due to a lack of personnel.

In Castile and León, there is no shortage of voices pointing out the precarious conditions under which firefighters dependent on the regional government are working. "It burns in the face of the helplessness of the residents, with privatized and scarce resources, in the face of climate change denialism and the apathy of 38 years of PP government. A change of model and policies that protect our towns are needed," tweeted Ana Redondo, Minister of Equality and also from Castile and León. In an interview on Cadena SER, Sara Aagesen, Minister of Ecological Transition, also denounced "denialism" and the lack of resources in communities governed by the right.

For the moment, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez has not entered the controversy and is dedicating himself to sending messages of caution to the public. The latest, via X, to warn that the situation "remains serious." "Extreme caution is essential," he tweeted, expressing his gratitude to those working "tirelessly to fight the flames."