THE day of reckoning has finally arrived. Valencian President Carlos Mazon officially resigned, confessing to ‘unbearable’ moments after a poll revealed a staggering 75% of Valencians wanted him gone.
But it took the 51-year-old PP politician over a year to do so as he grimly clung to power despite a dozen marches calling for his head over the October 29 DANA floods that killed hundreds.
His downfall is the bitter fruit of a political scandal fueled by the devastating flood and one fateful, lingering afternoon with an attractive blonde journalist.
The judicial inquest into the disastrous DANA storm, which claimed the lives of 229 victims, reached fever pitch this week as Maribel Vilaplana, the 50-year-old divorcee at the heart of the crisis, was forced to testify.
Vilaplana, dodging the angry screams of victims’ families outside the courthouse after months of mass protests (the latest attracting 50,000 enraged citizens), confirmed the explosive details: she was with Mazon, who is married with two children, for a prolonged ‘lunch and after-lunch talk’ (sobremesa) at the Ventorro restaurant, while the deadly weather system bore down on the region.
The key question haunting the public remains: Why was Mazon, the man responsible for issuing the catastrophe alert, extending an after-lunch talk instead of doing his job?
The attractive journalist’s testimony, while highly anticipated, was short on substance, confirming the suspicion that this case has ‘More Sensationalism Than Substance’ (Mas Morbo Que Sustancia).
Vilaplana, who is not currently under investigation, claimed she only had ‘personal impressions’ of Mazon’s demeanor. She admitted he received calls – but were those calls about saving the 229 lives, or ordering another bottle of Rioja?
Legal experts claim her memory is now ‘imprecise, inexact, and full of gaps,’ a detail the public is already spinning into a spectacular cover-up. Was it the pressure of the moment, or was the memory simply washed away by a boozy, high-stakes midday party?
The gravity of the situation is horrifying: Mazon is under fire for potentially instructing officials to actually hold back the alarm, leading directly to the terrifying drownings.
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In his tearful resignation speech, Mazon admitted: “I know I made mistakes, I recognise it and I’m going to live with them all my life.” He claimed he didn’t know the Poyo ravine was overflowing or the true scale of the tragedy until the next morning.
But his mea culpa was immediately savaged.
Rosa Alvarez, president of a flood victim association, slammed the speech as ‘painful and undignified’, claiming it was ‘steeped in lies’.
Socialist rival Diana Morant rubbed salt in the wound, declaring Mazon’s fall ‘good news’ and crowing that victim families had ‘claimed the scalp’ of the ‘worst Valencian president in its history’.
Mazon has fallen, but the scandal continues. Now, a desperate succession battle has begun.
Juanfran Perez Llorca, the PP secretary general and Mayor of Finestrat since 2015, is already being touted as the favourite to claim the presidency. But the minority government relies on the far-right Vox party, which holds the balance of power. They could back Llorca – or force early regional elections to boost their own seats.
Mazon, who shamefully remains a deputy, is effectively shielded from prosecution by legal privilege – even in defeat.
But the long shadow of that single, wine-fueled afternoon hangs over the entire case, proving once and for all that sometimes, a politician’s biggest danger isn’t a political rival – it’s a long, boozy lunch that seals his fate.
Timeline to disaster
- 7.45AM OCT 29: Spain’s weather agency Aemet issues a red alert weather warning for ‘incredible risk to life’ in the Valencia region
- MIDDAY, OCT 29: Mazon sits down with the blonde journalist, Maribel Vilaplana, at the Ventorro restaurant for a lavish working lunch.
- EARLY AFTERNOON, OCT 29: Catastrophe warnings and data showing a massive storm surge pile up on desks across the government, but the crucial public alert is not issued.
- MID-AFTERNOON, OCT 29: The DANA storm hits, overwhelming the Poyo ravine and engulfing towns. Citizens are left completely unaware.
- LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING, OCT 29: While the death toll mounts, Mazon and Vilaplana remain in their prolonged ‘sobremesa’ – the political leader only fielding a few calls, but crucially, still failing to grasp the gravity of the unfolding disaster.
- 8:11 PM, OCT 29: The Generalitat Valenciana finally issues the mobile phone emergency alert (ES ALERT), hours after the deadly floods began and with many people already dead. Mazon is still MIA – he doesn’t arrive at the crisis center (CECOPI) until 8:28 PM.
- EARLY HOURS, OCT 30: Mazon claims he only found out about the 229 deaths and the true scale of the tragedy after the hours of boozy indulgence were over.
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