Day 1 of the Reconstruction Council

Day 1 of the Reconstruction Council. The President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, will gather his new team for the first time this Tuesday, the third in just over a year of legislature. A regional government with a single goal: to recover the province of Valencia after the DANA of October 29. A challenge in which the popular leader stakes his own presence in the electoral poster in 2027: “If I am not able to lead the recovery of Valencia, I will not run for re-election”, was his clearest message in his appearance in Les Corts Valencianes to account for his actions before, during, and after that fateful October afternoon.

His political career, therefore, relies on the actions of his new team. One of the conditions to continue leading the Generalitat has undoubtedly been a change of faces, a necessary renewal in the top tier of the regional administration. The portfolios increase from nine to eleven, as two ministries have split competencies. Thus, Justice and Interior have been divided into two: Justice and Public Administrations (which comes from Finance) and Emergencies and Interior.

Salomé Pradas, heavily criticized for being responsible for disaster response teams, makes way for Nuria Martínez (Justice) and Juan Carlos Valderrama (Emergencies). Meanwhile, Nuria Montes hands over her position to Marián Cano in the same ministry with the same responsibilities.

But undoubtedly, the most striking entry is that of Lieutenant General Gan Pampols in the Vice Presidency for Economic and Social Reconstruction, a large macro-department tasked with coordinating the rest for infrastructure, economic, and social tasks derived from the DANA. It will also be responsible, according to the competencies granted in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV), for coordinating relations with the State and any other administration "in everything related to economic and social recovery activities." That is, with the central government, whose collaboration is essential for the successful completion of the project.

Gan Pampols holds all the power of the Council. He has designed his entire team, starting with the regional secretary. Another military figure, Brigadier General of the Army Venancio Aguado de Diego, will be the vice president's 'number two'.

This Tuesday, officially, the new ministers will take office after the dismissals and appointments were published on Friday. There will be no handover of portfolios between incoming and outgoing holders; only images of the Council and its first meeting have been allowed in an unprecedented decision. This Tuesday, two plenary sessions will be held, one ordinary and one extraordinary. It will be the first time this team meets.