Madrid: The leader of Spain’s Valencia region said Monday he was stepping down over his government’s handling of the devastating flash floods that killed more than 230 people last year and whose response he is widely seen as having bungled.
Since the October 29, 2024 floods, Carlos Mazon faced regular calls to resign, including last week at a state memorial held on the first anniversary of the disaster where family members of victims insulted him and called him a “killer” before the event began.
“I know I made mistakes. I acknowledge them, and I will live with them for the rest of my life.
I have apologised, and I apologise again today, but none of them were due to political calculation or bad faith,” Mazon told reporters on Monday in Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city.
Mazon has been slammed by citizens and political rivals for his administration’s slow response to
the emergency.