A rally this Sunday in front of the Corts Valencianes in València has demanded “Mazón a presó” (Mazón to prison) and that the future of Valencians in Madrid not be negotiated, five days after he announced his resignation as president of the Generalitat and in the midst of negotiations between the PP and Vox to find the person to replace him in office.
The protest has been called by Acord Social Valencià, a platform that has the support of more than 200 social, civic and union entities that during the last year have organized a demonstration every month under the motto 'Mazón resignation' to demand the departure of the president of the Generalitat for his “disastrous management” of the dana. In this new protest, supported by other organizations such as CGT, the motto has been changed to 'Mazón, a prisoner' to demand that he leave the record and be judged, that the entirety of his “negligent” Consell resign and that the people take part in a “real and effective” reconstruction.
Before the event, attendees spread banners that read “Mazón a presó” (Mazón to prison) with an image of the still president face down and he could also be seen represented in a prisoner's outfit.
Some relatives have shown images of the victims along with messages such as “they died because of your incompetence” or “murderers” and asking for “justice” for them.
Before reading the manifesto, the president of the Association of Mortal Victims of Dana, Rosa Álvarez, assured that “they will not” consent to the imposition of “a Government in the Valencian Community” from Madrid and has asserted that Mazón's resignation “is not enough” because “dignity, justice and reparation have not yet been achieved and responsibilities have not been assumed.”
And for this reason, Mariló Gradolí, president of the Association of Victims Dana October 29, 2024, has demanded “the resignation of the entire Consell” because it is “unworthy” for “having abandoned the Valencian people on the day they needed them most.”
Among the proclamations that have been chanted, “Mazón to prison” and “Volem vote” (we want to vote) have been repeated; “Susana Camarero takes us to the slaughterhouse” or “Popular Party, criminal party.”
This appointment comes the first weekend after the first contact this Friday between Vox and PP to negotiate a replacement for Carlos Mazón at the head of the Generalitat and at the moment, no information has emerged from the parties about any progress in the negotiation.
The rally takes place just one year after the first demonstration that was held in the city of Valencia to demand the resignation of Mazón, when only eleven days had passed since the dana of October 29, 2024 and in which more than 130,000 people participated, according to the Government Delegation, and the organizers have pointed out that today's event “commemorates that event that gave rise to the movement.”
This was followed by eleven other demonstrations, one each month around the 29th, which were held mostly in the Valencian capital, but also in municipalities in the so-called 'zone zero' of dana, such as Catarroja and Paiporta, convened by more than 200 entities and with associations of dana victims at the head.
In the manifesto they have demanded that Mazón deliver his report and appear in court and that his entire Consell assume its responsibility, as well as “transparency” in the institutions to know “what the reconstruction money is spent on”, that construction be prohibited in flood-prone areas and on the seafront and that taxes on high incomes be increased, among other demands.
Likewise, they have asked for the “participation of people from the affected towns in the reconstruction”, a housing solution for those who have lost everything and the “end of re-victimization” of the affected people.
“We have achieved the first objective – the resignation of Mazón – and we are going for the following: out of the Consell and Mazón to prison,” they stated at the event.
The hundreds of participants in the protest in front of the autonomous Parliament, who filled the Plaza San Lorenzo where it is located, filling from one side to the other the wide façade of the institution, where Mazón's replacement for the Presidency will have to be elected, have ended the event with a floral offering.
First they held up the carnations, roses and other white flowers – up to 231, for each of the victims of the dana, they explained – and then they placed them at the doors of Les Corts.