Emergency policy has never been a priority for the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón. The proof of this is the DANA disaster in the province of Valencia. But precedent shows that the seeds of management disaster were sown from the start of the legislature. And all this, despite the fact that less than three years ago a pandemic hit the world and in 2019 another wild storm devastated the Vega Baja region. The virulence with which the effects of climate change affect the Mediterranean coast is also not sufficient proof to be vigilant.
In the first government he formed after winning the election, Mazón entrusted emergency management to Vox, a climate denialist party with no prior government experience. The most important step of the former far-right advisor at the head of Justice and Interior was the dismantling of the Valencian Emergency Unit (UVE), created by the previous PSPV-PSOE and the Compromís government to coordinate disasters. At four months. Mazón himself worked hard to “sell” this political success because it ended in “a beach bar.”
After the break with Vox, powers in matters of emergencies were assumed by the Minister of Justice and the Interior, Salomé Pradas. As direct manager of the area, acting as regional secretary of Security and Emergencies, Pradas appointed Emilio Argüeso, a former deputy of Ciudadanos who joined the PP to finish blowing up the Orange Party in the Valencian Community during the last legislature. Argüeso is on leave as a civil guard and has experience as a local police officer, but not in management nor does he have the confidence of the president, as has been proven in this crisis. The position that Argüeso occupies today was held in the previous legislature by José María Ángel and he reported directly to the President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig. Mazón preferred that his presidential department have other powers, such as general management of the music industry, which he assumed this summer.
Thus, several sources consulted by elDiario.es who access the meetings of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi), where there are around twenty officials from institutions and state security forces and organizations, explain that “the emergencies of the Generalitat are a lack of control”. .” “The problem is that there is no single direction or command,” they emphasize. And as shown by a button. The president of the Generalitat counts on José Miguel Basset, provincial fire chief of the Provincial Delegation of Valencia, for his public interventions. Neither his regional secretary, who works in the field and does not personally go to Cecopi, nor the general director of Emergencies, Alberto Javier Martín. In the case of the Deputy Director General of Emergencies, the responsible Jorge Suárez, he intervened in some press conferences to defend that all the action was correct and “based on protocols”. For his part, the regional secretary is on the front line in one of the forward command posts, more precisely in Paiporta. But there are three other forward command posts in Requena, Chiva and a municipality of La Ribera.
Other sources confirm the lack of coordination and reflexes during this first Cecopi meeting. “There is a total lack of experience in Mazón’s team and the president does not have confidence in her either,” they emphasize. These same sources, also aware of the first development meeting of the first Cecopi, convened Tuesday afternoon, assure that, in addition to the fact that the initial call was made “late” by the Minister of Justice and Interior, Salomé Pradas, but it was further delayed with the arrival of President Carlos Mazón. The president had to be informed of everything that was happening.
The mayors also harshly criticized the management of the disaster, the lack of coordination and the lack of information and help from the Generalitat. The first meeting between mayors and crisis managers was convened on the 31st by the Provincial Deputation of Valencia. The President of the Generalitat and the government joined in.
The lack of coordination manifested itself in the lack of management of its own resources. While the Mazón Government was already seeking help from the Military Emergency Unit and later from the Army, it had its hundreds of forest firefighters sitting idle.
According to the unions, the six helicopters of the Generalitat Forest Fire Service remained in their respective bases without intervening during the first two days of the emergency, while the Regional Executive requested resources from the rest of Spain. For their part, of the 26 units of these firefighters, only two were mobilized on Tuesday. The same thing happened with other institutions that proposed and also criticized online for their lack of mobilization.
Pedro Sánchez at Cecopi
At the Cecopi meeting on Thursday morning, attended by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, a very striking situation occurred that shows the need for the Single Command to send clear and strong messages. The Castellón firefighters requested during the meeting that a message be sent by SMS to stop the mobility of the population due to the large amount of water that was raining. Since Valencia, other firefighters have defended caution.
According to sources present at the meeting, Sánchez watched the debate in silence until he intervened: “But let’s see, can’t we warn people? As soon as Cecopi ended, all cell phones in Castellón affected by DANA received the alert message.
