Vilaplana on Mazón: "My head is exploding. How could he talk to me normally? I think he didn't know anything, otherwise it's not possible."

Maribel Vilaplana, the journalist who dined with Carlos Mazón on the day of the storm, faces one of the toughest personal episodes in recent years from early Monday morning. Her appearance before the judge could mark a turning point in the narrative defended so far by the top leader of the Valencian Government. However, some circumstances contribute to diminishing her prominence. Undoubtedly, Mazón's announcement of his resignation has reduced the intensity, at least politically, surrounding the journalist.

Vilaplana, an expert speaker, cannot hide her nerves today. It has been a year of enormous intensity. On Saturday, she was treated in a hospital for a severe anxiety attack. But her will was to appear today, overcome this, and move on. That was her main goal. The judge initially asked her about her friendship with Mazón. "I have neither friendship nor enmity," she replied.

The first issue was addressing the parking ticket matter. "I don't have it because it was a year ago. I told my friend to go to the parking to get it, but they didn't give it to her." Vilaplana has stated that she has no problem providing her car's license plate for the judge to officially request it from the company. She has also shown willingness to check with her bank because the amount was paid with a credit card.

The meeting at Ventorro, on the day of the storm, was arranged on October 14 after an event presented by the journalist herself. It was there that the president informed her that he wanted her to collaborate with him. Vilaplana went directly to Ventorro after leaving the University. "I think I arrived around 2:30 pm, I took it easy because he had told me he had a meeting with unions."

Upon arriving at the establishment, someone escorted her to an upper floor. "I was taken to a large room where Mazón was." At one point, the owner of El Ventorro brought up an envelope that the president began to read and later signed. But Vilaplana does not know what it contained. There was no one else in that private room. She was also unaware if the bodyguards were elsewhere in the venue.

The journalist recalled that the president was always with his mobile. "I silenced mine and put it away." But Mazón's device was on the table. "He was not out of touch because he answered the phone. He was writing and calling. I have the perception that he spoke little. He made gestures, like, one minute. He was coming and going," she described. Everything happened "normally." "I don't remember if he rejected calls."

The journalist recounted, as an anecdote, that there was a "dispute" over a speech in Valencian they were analysing. "He never mentioned that he spoke with Pradas. I didn't hear anything about the storm, rains, Cecopi..." She only mentioned a reference or comment regarding these communications. "It's because of the photo," the president said at one point. She reproached him, in general terms, that politicians had become influencers, always concerned with these, theoretically, minor issues.

The journalist explained that she did not have a special perception of risk that day. Despite being a journalist, she explained that she does not read the press or watch television except for a bit of radio in the morning. Vilaplana has addressed one of the controversies of recent days. The alleged fact that she showed a video of the floods to Carlos Mazón during the Ventorro. "That's from a family chat. It's not a video but a link. I have my mobile put away, I take it out in one of those moments when Mazón leaves. And I put an emoji. I don't even open it. I didn't see the video. It torments me not to have opened it, in fact."

The professional has shown the content of that chat to the Justice Administration lawyer. "Everything I do is manipulated or distorted. All this is a damn coincidence. Why did it have to be that day? I lost a friend in the storm. I couldn't even say goodbye because I was in the hospital. I can't forgive myself for being there that day." It was one of the tensest moments of the appearance, with the witness very nervous. "My head is exploding. How could he keep talking to me normally? I think he didn't know anything because if not, it's not possible," she concluded.