‘Murderer’ chants echo through Valencia as tens of thousands demand accountability for flood disaster

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on Sunday in Valencia, hit hard by recent floods, in the latest such protest over the government response to the unprecedented natural disaster.

The October 29 tragedy killed 231 people and devastated swathes of the eastern Valencia region, leaving thousands of victims to spend Christmas without loved ones, homes or property in the traditionally Catholic country.

On Sunday, some 80,000 people, according to regional police, again denounced the handling of Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in decades.

“After everything that has happened with the floods, no politician has resigned, nor have there been any consequences, nor are they doing anything”, said Enrique Soriano.

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Much of the popular anger has been directed at the head of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, with protesters shouting “murderer” and “criminal” and carrying signs reading “Mazon resign”.

“Mazon did not do his job. And those who don’t do their job have to go to the streets. Especially a civil servant”, said Amparo Mateos from the town of Picana.

The anger is acutely raw in Valencia, which bore the brunt of the disaster: out of the 231 people killed in the disaster, 223 were in the Valencia region. Four people are still listed as missing.

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It marked a third major demonstration in Valencia over the government response, following protests held on November 9 and 30 that attracted 130,000 and 100,000 people, respectively, according to Valencia police.

Much of the anger has been focused on the fact that many residents received telephone alerts after water was already engulfing their homes, while some municipalities went without aid for days, relying on volunteers for immediate rescue work.

The popular fury was on stark display during a November 3 visit to the epicentre of the disaster by Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, alongside Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Mazon, when survivors pelted the delegations with mud in images that stunned the country.