Mazón appears before Congress amid PP-Vox negotiations

Valencia / BarcelonaWhere he was between 7 p.m. – when he said goodbye to journalist Maribel Vilaplana – and 8 p.m. – when he left the Palau de la Generalitat for the Cecopio (the regional emergency response center) – whether he gave any instructions to former councilor Salomé Pradas in the various calls he had with her, and finally, with whom he exchanged messages. These are some of the main questions that the acting Valencian president, Carlos Mazón, will have the opportunity to finally clarify this Monday in his appearance before the Congress of Deputies' commission investigating the DANA (isolated high-level depression). The PP politician's testimony comes after his frustrating appearance a few days ago before the Valencian Parliament's equivalent commission, when Mazón dodged almost all the questions raised by the opposition and even read a short speech, a circumstance that led the Balearic deputy to call him a "scam." There is hope that the question-and-answer format, which the congressional committee, unlike the Valencian Parliament, does plan to use, will force the conservative leader to explain his actions. In fact, this will be the first time Mazón has faced questioning, beyond the interviews he has given to friendly media outlets.

Carlos Mazón's appearance comes at a crucial moment in the negotiations to invest his successor. The deadline to register Juanfran Pérez Llorca's candidacy expires this Wednesday, November 19. If the People's Party (PP) and Vox reach an agreement, it is expected that both parties will want to hold the investiture session after the politician from Finestrat testifies as a witness this Friday. The investigating judge in the DANA case wants the second-in-command of the Valencian PP to clarify the content of the three communications he had on the day of the disaster with the then Minister of the Interior and Justice, Salomé Pradas. Specifically: at 6:57 p.m. (when a missed call occurred), 6:58 p.m. (14 seconds of conversation), and 6:59 p.m. (9 seconds). He will also have to explain what he discussed with the then-president, who called him twice at 6:57 p.m. As the politician from Finestrat explained to ARA, he only offered his help to the head of the Consell to speak with mayors from his party if necessary.

"Good rapport"

Regarding the progress of the talks to invest Lorca as president, the PP candidate himself expressed optimism on Friday, explaining in a tweet that he had met with the Vox leadership and that there had been "good rapport and willingness" in the meeting. He also promised to be "very transparent when there are relevant developments." The PP, specifically the national leadership, also emphasized their desire for the talks to conclude as soon as possible and insisted that they are not contingent on elections such as those taking place in Extremadura in December.

More cautious were the Vox sources consulted by ARA, who explained that the party is working with two scenarios: either an agreement will be reached "by Monday or Tuesday at the latest" because the PP has accepted their demands, or a "plan B"—which at this point lacks the party's consensus—would involve an investiture session where Pérez Llorca would explain the degree of implementation of the budget agreed upon a year ago between the two parties, followed by "a second vote."

"Ban of the burka and the niqab"

One of the key areas where the People's Party (PP) and Vox are negotiating is on policies affecting the migrant population, a crucial issue for the far-right party, which in recent days has repeatedly stated its intention to curtail the rights of foreigners. To this end, on Thursday they presented amendments to the draft law improving the Valencian guaranteed minimum income, which, among other things, aim to deny assistance to people who do not learn Spanish or to women who wear a burka or niqab. Along the same lines, on Friday they announced a non-binding resolution calling for a ban on these garments in public spaces because they "offend women's dignity." However, these are two initiatives that will be very difficult to pass legally without first amending state legislation and the Constitution itself. Vox's announcements don't represent anything new, given that in the 2025 budget for the Valencian Community, the PP and Vox already included a line item to allow for age verification of unaccompanied migrant children and another to promote "collaboration agreements with countries of origin of unaccompanied minors" that would allow for...

In addition to policies related to the migrant population, the elimination of measures that attempt to mitigate the impact of climate change will also be key in the negotiations. Again, the precedent is the last annual budget, when both parties agreed to reduce funding for the ecological transition. Another of Vox's demands is that Pérez Llorca require the State to build dams and dikes to prevent the impact of heavy rains and to eliminate all initiatives that promote the use of Valencian, which the far-right party criminalizes by labeling them Catalan nationalist.