A major demonstration — the latest in a series that have drawn tens of thousands of protestors — has been organized by a vast consortium of associations demanding Mazón’s resignation. Security forces are on call to keep summit attendees protected at the venue and to secure the hotels where VIPs are staying, as emotions remain frayed in a region where locals attacked Spain’s prime minister and pelted King Felipe VI with mud when they visited the flood zones.
“I imagine they don’t realize just how tense the situation is over here,” said Francesc Roig, lawmaker for the center-left Compromis party in Valencia’s regional parliament. He expressed shock that the EPP had moved forward with the event, and predicted locals would be infuriated by party notables socializing, stressing it wasn’t just the botched response but the slow pace of recovery efforts that angered many.
“Half a year after the disaster, there are still 6,000 elevators that have yet to be repaired,” he said. “There are thousands of people — elderly residents, folks with disabilities — who are trapped in their homes, who haven’t gone outside in months … The death toll keeps rising because people are developing respiratory illnesses as a result of living in houses that are partially ruined and full of mold.”
The EPP, however, dismissed concerns that the conference could be overshadowed by demonstrations: “We’re thankful for Partido Popular co-hosting this congress and having invited us to go to Valencia,” Tom Vandenkendelaere, Weber’s head of cabinet, told POLITICO. “We are looking forward to a successful congress.”
Ahead of the summit, the three main victims’ associations sent an open letter to von der Leyen, requesting a meeting and calling on her to issue a “clear and public condemnation” of Mazón’s handling of the tragedy. And though the Commission president declined to meet with them in Valencia, in a letter seen by POLITICO, her head of cabinet, Bjoern Seibert, invited victims to a meeting in Brussels on May 13.
The letter indicates von der Leyen is ready to hear from Mazón’s critics. “We recognize the immense pain and loss you have suffered and the tragedy you describe,” Seibert wrote. “We believe that your voices deserve to be heard in the most meaningful way.”
Álvarez Gil said the victims are determined to ensure von der Leyen knows what took place in Valencia six months ago: “I want her to know what happened here,” she said. “I want her to know what it means for her, and for Europe’s image in Valencia, to be photographed beside people who have blood on their hands.”
