Floods in Spain: the time for “political debate” will come, promises Sánchez

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez assured Monday that the “political battle” “political debate” on the mismanagement of the deadly floods of October 29 had to wait, with priority given to “reconstruction”, for which he announced 3, 8 billion euros in new aid.

On Saturday, a demonstration brought together some 130,000 people in Valencia to demand the resignation of the president of the regional executive Carlos Mazón and also to criticize the management of the disaster by the Spanish central government.

“The government is doing what it must do. And what we must do is rebuild after this tragedy and relaunch economic and social activity,” the head of government said Monday during a press conference.

“Later, the political debate will focus on the things to improve in the face of this climate emergency and, without a doubt, in the face of the assumption of political responsibilities that, of course, will have to be justified,” he continued.

“The lesson is that we are facing a climate emergency that will demand the best of us,” added Pedro Sánchez, calling for “listening to science and learning from it” and “strengthening public services to provide an effective and equitable response to natural disasters.”

Since the deadly floods that left 222 dead, according to the latest report released by the government, criticism has been directed in particular at the head of the regional government Carlos Mazón, accused of having been slow to react when the Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet) had issued a red alert on the morning of October 29.

In Spain, a highly decentralized country, disaster management is the responsibility of regional administrations, but the central government, responsible for issuing alerts via Aemet, can provide resources and take control in cases extremes.

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– “All necessary means” –

The Prime Minister was not spared in the ranks of the demonstration on Saturday evening in Valencia.

Mr. Sánchez and Mr. Mazón were alongside the sovereigns Felipe VI and Letizia during their visit to a devastated area on November 3, during which all were targeted with insults and mud throwing, a sign of the exasperation of the victims.

Carlos Mazón, who has ruled out the idea of ​​resigning, is to be heard by the Valencian regional parliament on Thursday, to express his views on his management of the disaster.

“We must accept that mistakes have undoubtedly been made, we must do so with all humility,” he acknowledged on Monday during a press briefing.

In terms of reconstruction and disaster relief, 110 new measures were approved on Monday at a council of ministers, for a total amount of nearly 3.8 billion euros.

Among them is an envelope of 200 million euros for farmers, and another of 500 million to finance the evacuation of “thousands of tons of mud and debris” accumulated in the affected areas.

This aid comes on top of a previous package of 10.6 billion euros presented last week by the Prime Minister, including tax breaks, a three-month deferral of mortgage repayments and the assumption by the central state of the expenses incurred by the municipalities for the immense clean-up work.

“The government is present and will be present, with all the necessary means, and as long as it takes (…) we will continue the work to restore normality in the affected areas,” assured Pedro Sánchez.

On the ground, thousands of volunteers, soldiers, police officers, civil guards and emergency services are still working to repair infrastructure, distribute aid and search for dozens of missing people.

These operations could be disrupted by the arrival of new rainfall, which led Aemet to classify part of the Valencia region on orange alert on Wednesday for possible “torrential rains”.

A sign that a return to normal is beginning to take shape despite everything: the rail operator Renfe has announced the resumption of service of its high-speed trains between Madrid and Valencia from Thursday, after a 15-day interruption.

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