Carlos Masón, president of Spain’s eastern region of Valencia, has resigned under mounting public and political pressure over his mishandling of the flood that killed 229 people just over a year ago.
The conservative People’s Party (PP) politician had clung to power despite calls to step down after it emerged that, at the height of the disaster, he spent more than three hours at lunch with a journalist while people were drowning in their homes, garages, and cars.
His refusal to resign triggered mass protests across Valencia, many under the slogan: “Mud on our hands, blood on his.” A recent poll found that 75% of the region’s residents believed Masón should step down.
Residents of Valencia wearing Masón masks during a demonstration commemorating the 229 victims of last year’s flood. October 2025.
Reuters
On Monday, November 3, he conceded the inevitable and announced that he would step down as head of the regional government.
“I can’t do this anymore,” he told reporters after a speech in which he sharply criticized the central government’s response to the crisis. He did not say whether he would call early elections, remain a member of the regional parliament — which would strip him of immunity — or who would take over until a successor is appointed.
Earlier, Masón had insisted that “there is no government in the world with the tools to change, stop, or prevent an episode of torrential rain breaking historic precipitation records in a specific place at a specific time.”
He also claimed that while having lunch with journalist Maribel Vilaplana, he was receiving phone updates and remained informed about the unfolding situation.
Public anger over his administration’s response — particularly the fact that the emergency alert was not sent to mobile phones until 8 p.m. on the day of the flood — peaked during the state memorial ceremony for the victims held in Valencia last Wednesday.
Cars swept away by the flood on a street in Alfafar, Valencia. October 29, 2024.
EPA
Attending the ceremony on the first anniversary of the tragedy, Masón was met with shouts of “murderer,” “coward,” and “you belong in prison.” Speaking earlier that day, he conceded that “there were things that should have worked better.”
A parliamentary inquiry into the events of October 29, 2024, is ongoing, while a judge in Valencia is conducting a separate investigation into possible crimes of involuntary manslaughter and negligence leading to preventable deaths.
Vilaplana confirmed in a statement that the lunch began at 3 p.m. and lasted until around 6:30–6:45 p.m., but said she was unaware of the scale of what was happening in the region. “At one point during the meal, the president began taking phone calls that constantly interrupted our conversation,” she said. “I remained in the restaurant completely unaware of those exchanges. I didn’t ask questions, didn’t participate, and didn’t learn their content. The president showed no signs of concern.” On Monday, the journalist is due to testify before a judge in Valencia.
Masón initially claimed that he arrived at the crisis response headquarters, the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi), after 7 p.m. that day. The emergency alert was sent only at 8:11 p.m., by which time most of the victims had already drowned.
He later clarified that he had actually reached Cecopi at 8:28 p.m.—almost 20 minutes after the delayed warning—but insisted he had “not changed his story.” “I don’t understand the talk about me changing my version,” he said. “Obviously, 8:28 comes after 7:30. That’s a fact.”
It remains unclear what he was doing between the end of the lunch and his arrival at the coordination center.
In early October, investigating judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra refused to close the case against the then regional minister of justice and interior, Salomé Pradas.
Ruiz Tobarra described the natural disaster as “a Dantesque episode—a true hell of destruction, death, and ultimately, darkness.” She said there was “overwhelming evidence of negligent behavior,” citing a “clear delay” in convening the Cecopi meeting and an “intolerable delay in issuing public alerts.”
She added that the case showed signs of “gross negligence,” noting “not only the extremely grave fatal outcome but also the slowness and flawed nature of the response measures.”
Pradas, for her part, insists that she acted “in the best possible way” while trying to respond to the crisis. She acknowledged, however, that before being appointed head of the Interior Ministry three months prior to the flood, she had no experience in handling emergencies. “I had held no institutional or political position related to emergency management before this moment,” she told the court earlier this year.
It also emerged that the regional government’s vice president, Susana Camarero, left the Cecopi meeting to attend an awards ceremony on the afternoon of October 29, 2024.