Many were already with water up to their necks when the evacuation order rang on mobile phones in the Valencia region on the disastrous Tuesday evening at the end of October. The inhabitants were not prepared for the storm’s ravages, and the authorities were too late to help. The flume is considered the worst natural disaster in 100 years. Over 200 people lost their lives, and several are still missing. Strong anger was quickly directed at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchèz, at the regional president and at the king. Everyone who the people think should be held responsible. URIX: Why were they so furious with the king? The people feel let down news meets siblings Vicky Guillamón Renovell and Toni Guillamón Renovell while they try to save what is left after the embarrassment in their parents’ house in Paiporta. They are among those who believe that the warning came too late, and that all bodies in the state apparatus have failed them. – The prime minister is the one who governs. He should have given the order, but he didn’t. Regional president Mazón didn’t ask for help either, says Toni. Vicky Guillamón Renovell and Toni Guillamón Renovell are trying to save what is left of their parents’ house. Photo: Monica Ruiz Biern / news A political game Alejandro Ayala-Wold researches Spanish politics at the University of Bergen, and believes that the flag is now being used in a political game. The far-right party Vox and the conservative People’s Party Partido Popular (PP) have, in common with large sections of the population, pointed the finger at the current government. Alejandro Alaya-Wold researches Spanish politics at UiB. Photo: Private The governing authorities’ crisis management was too bad. The people have been dependent on the thousands of volunteers who have put themselves forward. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has tied money around the reconstruction work to next year’s state budget, which the opposition calls blackmail. “The scapegoat must not be used as a bargaining chip”, writes PP in a statement. On Wednesday, residents of Valencia and Malaga received a new notification on their mobile phones. Again, the meteorologists send out a red warning for rain. Photo: Vincent West / Reuters Vox points upwards – It is clear that in such a situation neither Valencia nor any other region has the capacity to hire such operations, says the head of Vox Valencia, Ignazio Gil Lázaro, to news. Therefore, he believes that the responsibility lies higher up in the system, with the left-wing government in Madrid. On the other hand, the government has gradually pushed the narrative that the regional leader in Valencia, Carlos Mazón (PP), should have asked for help earlier, which he did not do, according to researcher Ayala-Wold. On Saturday, tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in the streets of Valencia demanding that he resign. Newspaper: Mazon owes the government The regional leader Mazón says the employees in his staff did not receive enough information from the central authorities and that it was not possible to predict the scale of the disaster, writes the BBC. The Spanish newspaper El Pais writes that Mazón owes the government. Just over two weeks after the embarrassment, on Monday this week, the regional leader told journalists that “one must assume that a mistake may have been made”. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has also received harsh criticism, has said that “the time for political debate” will come later. Over 100,000 Spaniards took to the streets this weekend in protest against the government. Photo: Eva Manez / Reuters Has warned for years A first analysis from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) shows that the rainy weather that hit Spain is twice as likely in today’s climate compared to before global warming. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke about this at the climate summit in Azerbaijan this week. – Climate change led to over 220 of my fellow citizens dying in Spain in the biggest natural disaster in our history. A disaster that would be less likely and less intense without climate change. Juan Bordera, climate journalist and member of the regional parliament in Valencia, has been warning for years. After seeing major disasters in Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Libya, Belgium and other places, he has tried to get new crisis plans through. It has been without luck. Climate journalist Juan Bordera criticizes governments’ crisis planning. Photo: Monica Ruiz Biern / news – Knowing that we could have avoided a lot of these sufferings, the loss of life, it hurts so much. Emotionally, it is one of the worst things I have experienced in my life, says Bordera. He blames the regional right-wing coalition for the embarrassment being as deadly as it was. – They are based on climate denial. Crisis planning has been irresponsible, sometimes criminally bad, says Bordera to news. – Fires up under the distrust Vox Valencia manager Ignacio Gil Lázaro sees it differently. He believes that drawing the lines from the flume disaster to climate change is left-wing ideology. – No one talked about climate change when Valencia flooded in 1957. Then we built dykes and dams, and we have to do that today as well. Don’t engage in climate fanaticism, he says to news. Deputy owner of Vox, Ignacio Gil Lázaro, is among those who blame the government for exploiting the flu disaster. Photo: Monica Ruiz Biern / news Several additional groups that are more or less loosely connected to Vox have in recent weeks raised the mood and fueled distrust of the governing authorities in Spain now, according to Ayala-Wold. news meets Roberto Vaquero, who leads such a grouping. The far-left group Fronte Obrero wants to see a popular uprising against the current political system in Spain. – Violence is only a tool. If it is used for a common good, I don’t see anything wrong with it, says Vaquero. Roberto Vaquero leads the Marxist-Leninist party Fronte Obrero, which is on the extreme left in Spanish politics. Photo: Monica Ruiz Biern / news The demonstrators were around him with red flags and shouting: – Struggle is the only way! Vaquero thinks there is reason to be angry at absolutely everyone, and that all the talk about climate covers up the fact that the entire political leadership has neglected the people. Fronte Obrero during a demonstration in Valencia on Saturday 9 November. Photo: Simen Ekern / Simen Ekern – For me, it is abhorrent to use this politically to talk about climate change, says Vaquero. Ayala-Wold does not believe that groups such as Fronte Obrero will gain any ground on this. – But it is worth noting that Vox usually gets more support when there are crises in Spain. We have seen it with the migrant problem that has hit the country. Published 14.11.2024, at 19.10 Updated 14.11.2024, at 20.31
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Political chaos after the embarrassment in Spain – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
