Carlos Mazón returned on Monday to the Spanish Congress committee investigating the handling of the 29 October 2024 DANA, but left most questions about that afternoon unanswered. In his second appearance before the committee, the former Valencian president did deny taking charge of the emergency when he reached the Cecopi coordination centre after 8pm. That statement did not provide a new timeline for the decisions made before the ES-Alert was sent at 8.11pm.
Mazón linked his refusal to answer to the criminal inquiry still under way in Catarroja and argued that the courts had already ruled out his responsibility. The hearing therefore ended without a further account of the information he received, the communications he had or any action he took before arriving at the coordination centre. EFE’s report notes that he spoke only at selected points and otherwise referred MPs back to his opening position.
The TSJCV order did not settle political accountability
The ruling invoked by Mazón requires more precision than the word “exoneration” suggests. In March, the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Valencian High Court declined to open an investigation into him because it found no solid, objective basis in the referral for treating the conduct described as criminal. The judiciary’s own official summary stressed that the court was considering possible criminal liability, not moral or political responsibility.
Nor did that order amount to a judgment on the entire emergency response. The Catarroja case remains open, with former Justice and Interior minister Salomé Pradas and former regional emergencies secretary Emilio Argüeso still under investigation. Argüeso appeared after Mazón and also declined to answer, saying he did not want to compromise his defence, Radio Valencia reported.
The next opportunity for answers comes on 28 September
The two witnesses’ silence prevented this session from establishing who knew about each warning and what room for decision-making existed during the critical hours. It also leaves two separate forms of scrutiny in place: the courts decide whether criminal liability exists, while the parliamentary committee examines the conduct of public office-holders and may issue findings and proposals.
The next verifiable development is due on 28 September, when Congress has recalled Valencia provincial council president Vicente Mompó and Salomé Pradas. Their answers, together with any documents added to the inquiry, will show whether the known sequence changes. For now, the limited but concrete development from Mazón’s second appearance is that he said he did not direct the emergency on entering Cecopi and declined to explain the rest of his actions.