Valencia Mayor Catalá Rejects Mazón's Alleged Flood Instruction Claims in Congress

María José Catalá, mayor of Valencia and a leading PP figure in the Valencian Community, appeared before a Congress committee investigating the October 29 flood (dana). She denied receiving any direct or indirect instructions from former regional president Carlos Mazón regarding the emergency response.

The hearing referenced leaked WhatsApp messages from the regional government in which Mazón allegedly urged officials to “flood the media with data” to create a sense of alert. Opposition deputies highlighted those chats, but Catalá said she was not part of the group and had not been instructed by Mazón. She emphasised that Mazón had taken political responsibility for the flood management and that any legal accountability would be addressed in court.

Catalá also criticised the lack of warnings from the Júcar River basin authority, while affirming that the regional government has assumed its political duties.