Anger has not subsided in Valencia, Spain, a month after deadly floods which traumatized the city. To the cries of “They are not dead, they were murdered”and behind a huge sign “Mazon, resignation”, in reference to the conservative president of the region, Carlos Mazon, nearly 100,000 people marched in the city center, Saturday November 30, according to the delegation of the Spanish government (prefecture) in Valencia.
“Your negligence is our misfortune” or even “Only the people save the people”, could we also read on the banners of this demonstration organized at the call of local and union organizations in the region by far the most affected by the destructive floods of October 29, which left a total of 230 dead.
On November 9, some 130,000 people had already marched in Valencia, Spain's third largest city, to demand the resignation of Mr. Mazon, and to denounce the management of the emergency by the central government of socialist Pedro Sanchez.
“Many incompetents who continue to be paid”
At 8:11 p.m. Saturday, protesters rang their cell phones again, shouting “Assassins, assassins!” ». This is the time when the Valencian authorities sent the alert to the population to warn of the danger, more than twelve hours after the red alert issued by the National Meteorological Agency and when the floods were already inundating many areas .
The victims criticize the regional executive for not having warned residents sufficiently in advance of the danger of the torrential rains which had started on the morning of the fateful Tuesday. And for having delayed deploying aid in more than seventy municipalities. “If people had been warned in time, with the means they have, this would not have happened. The rest are just excuses.”estimates Juan Carlos Ribes, a 58-year-old civil servant, who lives about fifty kilometers south of Valencia.
In Spain, a very decentralized country, disaster management is a responsibility of the regions, but the central power can provide resources and even take over the emergency in extreme cases.
“What went wrong?” Incompetence. That's why we're here, because there are a lot of incompetent people who continue to get paid.”says Raquel Ferrandis, a 55-year-old professor from the town of Paiporta, the epicenter of the disaster.
Material damage estimated at several million euros
The torrential rains left 222 dead in the Valencia region alone, and four missing, in addition to material damage estimated at several million euros. “These politicians are killing the people,” we could also read on another sign at the demonstration which took place peacefully.
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Maribel Peralta, a 62-year-old teacher from Valencia, held up a banner against the region's president. “I am totally outragedshe said. People who have lost everything, see how they live. People who lost their businesses, see how they live. Help does not arrive. » She was already on the street on November 9.
Friday evening, one month to the day after the floods, rallies took place in several of the affected municipalities, at the call of local organizations, unions and associations. “The disaster was immense, it will be very difficult” to recover from it, estimates Jordi Cervera, a 62-year-old technician from a village north of Valencia.
Source: Lemonde