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- Members of emergency services, firefighters, and families of the deceased lead the sixth protest march, five months after the tragedy.
Five months after the devastating DANA storm, Valencia has once again taken to the streets to demand justice and the resignation of Generalitat President Carlos Mazón. This marks the sixth protest since the disaster, which claimed 224 lives. Victims’ families and emergency service workers who participated in the rescue and recovery efforts led a massive demonstration through the centre of Valencia, primarily calling for Mazón to step down due to his handling of the crisis in its initial hours.
Despite the time that has passed, protesters insist that the pain remains unchanged. The main banner of the march read “Mazón Dimissió” (Mazón Resign), as many consider him one of the main figures responsible. This sentiment was reinforced after the Valencian government revealed that Mazón arrived at the Emergency Coordination Centre only at 8:28 PM on the evening of the catastrophe.
The protest also comes at a time when Mazón has begun meeting with victims of the DANA storm. One of the most significant meetings was with the president of SOS Desaparecidos, a missing persons organization. The group’s spokesperson directly called for Mazón’s resignation and urged him to testify in court regarding the ongoing investigation into the disaster. However, these meetings have done little to ease public frustration, with many demonstrators on Saturday demanding new elections.
FIREFIGHTERS SPEAK OUT
Calls for Mazón’s resignation are also coming from emergency service workers, who argue that they did everything possible with the resources they had. Now, five months later, they are demanding greater transparency and criticizing Mazón’s response to the crisis.
“I believe he should step aside and allow the possibility of new elections,” said Nicolás Valverde, a representative of Valencia’s municipal fire department.
The protest coincides with a critical week in the judicial investigation into the political handling of the disaster. Several victims have been summoned to testify, and many have directly pointed fingers at Mazón. Meanwhile, the president of the Generalitat insists he is focused on reconstruction efforts after securing an agreement with Vox to approve the regional budget.
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