Mazón's right-hand man refuses to explain where the president was the afternoon of the storm.

Barcelona / ValenciaCarlos Mazón's chief of staff and right-hand man, José Manuel Cuenca, has supported the former president and refused to answer many questions during the DANA (isolated high-altitude depression) commission hearing in Congress, arguing that the details he could provide to the investigation had already been given to the investigating judge in his testimony as a witness a few days prior. Thus, the journalist also declined to clarify where the then-president of the Valencian government was on the afternoon of the DANA storm after leaving the El Ventorro restaurant and then, according to his account, accompanying journalist Maribel Vilaplana to the parking lot to go to the Palau de la Generalitat (the seat of the Valencian government) and finally leaving for the Cecopi (the regional emergency response center), where he arrived at 8:28 p.m. "These matters have nothing to do with the commission," he insisted during a tense and heated questioning in which Cuenca even asked, "What do I have to do with the emergency?"

He also denied the accusations made by former councilor Salomé Pradas on Sunday in an interview on the program Saved, In which she said she received instructions not to disturb the former Valencian president on the day of the disaster. Cuenca said she does not recall these words, but considers it "perfectly normal" that in the telephone conversation she had with the former councilor at 1:20 p.m., she told her that the then-head of the Valencian government could see her because she had several engagements and that she should contact her for anything she needed. Pradas will have to appear before Congress on December 15, as announced this Monday by the committee's board.

Cuenca reiterated that Mazón's lunch with Vilaplana was a working meeting with the objective of offering him the directorship of À Punt. This version contradicts the fact that Vilaplana had already rejected the offer two weeks earlier, as reported by ARA. Cuenca stated that lunches like these don't have a set schedule and that, depending on the topics to be discussed, they last longer or shorter. With the same secrecy, and regarding Mazón's absence from the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center) during the most tragic hours, Cuenca insisted that no official from the Emergency Department requested the president's presence. "I guaranteed that the president would always be reachable, at all times, in case they needed him at any point during the emergency," he defended himself.

Minutes earlier, in response to a question about whether he had anything to do with the press conference held by Mazón on October 29, in which he sent a reassuring message to the public, he said that this information came from the Ministry of Justice and the Interior. He also admitted to sharing a WhatsApp group with Pradas and the deputy head of Emergency Services, Emilio Argüeso, which was created in the summer due to the wildfires, but that they did not exchange any messages on the day of the torrential rains. He also denied ordering the manipulation of the Aemet audio recordings that are currently under investigation.

Without self-criticism

Previously, the Minister of Education, José Antonio Rovira, criticized by the educational community for neglecting the management of schools and institutes on October 29, 2024, and for the delayed recovery of the centers after the disaster, also appeared before the committee. On that fateful day a year ago, in the midst of a red alert and when some municipalities were already beginning to suffer torrential rains, the Minister did not suspend classes. But not only that: at 1 p.m., he asked his driver to take him home for lunch in the Alicante municipality of San Vicente del Raspeig. The result was that many educational centers were severely damaged, and in most cases, it was the educational community itself that had to clean them up. If he went home during the DANA storm, Rovira also failed to appear when a worker from the public company Tragsa died and another was injured while carrying out repairs at the Lluís Vives school in Massanassa, when a footbridge connecting two buildings collapsed. The City Council had already issued a warning, but the regional minister stated that the school was not at risk of collapse. With this track record, Rovira appeared before Congress and went on the offensive without offering any self-criticism. "Ensuring safety is not within our department's purview," Rovira responded when ERC deputy Teresa Jordà reminded him of the case of the principal of a school in Cheste who stayed at the school until the very end and died on his way home. Thus, the regional minister blamed the principal for returning to Valencia. "He made a tragic decision," he stated without flinching, before launching an even more chilling rebuke. "As Minister of Education, am I responsible for all 500,000 students and 80,000 teachers?" he asked, to the astonishment of the parliamentary spokespeople. "You are everything a Minister of Education shouldn't be. You're a minister who was nowhere to be found when you were most needed," the Republican deputy retorted. The Association of Victims of the DANA storm has already demanded his dismissal. "Blaming a victim for their own death is cruel, undignified, and deeply offensive," the victims declared, concluding that "no public official can justify their incompetence by attacking the memory of someone who has passed away."

"Are you aware that if you had taken the political lead and closed the schools, Neizan and her parents, and José, the principal of the Cheste high school, would be alive today?" asked Compromís deputy Alberto Ibáñez, also referring to the deaths of a couple returning from school. Rovira, however, insisted that the Ministry of Education was not responsible for closing the schools, although it is the body with the authority to guarantee their safety. The Minister acknowledged that he did not send any communication to the schools or to his staff to warn them of the red alert, and stated that it is the municipalities that have the power to close them. In fact, he admitted that the first circular the Ministry of Education sent to schools was on October 31, two days after the disaster. He also said that he does not recall whether Pradas, the head of emergency services, informed them of any weather warnings, although, as she said yesterday in the Saved, He reported on the situation at the Council meeting Early in the morning.

He left for his hometown only for "personal and family reasons"

The regional minister acknowledged leaving Valencia at midday on October 29th, but blamed the Spanish government delegation for that decision, claiming they said "the storm was heading towards Cuenca at 6:00 PM," the same excuse Mazón has used all this time. "I left with the false sense of security conveyed to us by the government delegate," he reiterated, but admitted that his agenda in Alicante didn't include any official events, but rather "personal and family matters." Mikel Otero, of EH Bildu, countered, reminding him that Bernabé had said that day that the red alert could be extended beyond 6:00 PM because rain was expected throughout the day. "If I had had accurate information about what was going to happen, I wouldn't have left under any circumstances," he said. In this regard, he asserted that the proof of this alleged lack of information is that the town councils did not convene their Cecopal (Local Emergency Coordination Centers), and it was overlooked that the Generalitat (Valencian Government) is responsible for sending this information to the local councils. He also admitted that he had never read the special flood plan, which clearly states that the responsibility lies with the Generalitat, and not the Spanish government delegation, as Rovira had previously claimed. Regarding his absence after the death of the worker who was rebuilding a school, the councilor excused himself by saying that it was "Sunday" and he was with his family after a very busy month. "Are you saying that councilors should always be in their offices on Saturdays and Sundays?" the councilor retorted.