Ruz: "When Service Ends, Mistakes Become True Ordeals for Everyone"

The resignation of the President of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, has triggered a political earthquake echoed by the Mayor of Elche, the popular Pablo Ruz. The mayor stated that "when service ends," "mistakes" are made that "also become true ordeals for everyone." "Let us never forget that we are here to serve," he added.

He expressed this on Monday in statements to the media, during which he noted that he "misses" the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) "assuming its share of responsibility" because it "was not present" during the storm on October 29, 2024, which claimed the lives of 229 people in the province of Valencia.

"Now Polo will have to resign too, I suppose," he remarked, while insisting that the hydrographic confederations, dependent on the central administration, "have a fundamental responsibility" in "the management of water flows," as their "control" does not depend on municipalities "nor on the Generalitat," he emphasized.

In this context, when asked if he believes that "expert voices" warning of the consequences of climate change are "underestimated," Ruz indicated that he hopes those professionals "will participate" in the Local Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopal) of Elche "from now on" when it is convened: "This is what we have been asking for this past year because the Confederation has left us alone since October 28."

"We also had a storm a month ago and we tried to have the Confederation seated here, and in the end, we, the people of Elche, had to fend for ourselves," he added.

Regarding the process that is supposed to begin now in Les Corts Valencianes to elect a new person to lead the Consell, he stated: "I have neither the capacity nor the will to decide what the Generalitat should do and, above all, what the regional courts should do. We focus on our own tasks."

About Mazón, he stated that "the president couldn't withstand the pressure any longer and decided to resign" because "he wasn't present during the flood." "That's very hard, and I think it's also important to acknowledge the ability to admit you've made a mistake," he added.

Similarly, he asserted: "It has been a very tough year for him, and we all knew it, a very complicated year, a year in which he had to endure many things and was exposed to harsh criticism. The decision made by President Mazón is one we respect and value."

Ruz also said that "the first thing" those in politics must do is "remember the victims of this disaster" who suffered "a flood caused by absolutely explosive weather conditions that sowed chaos, pain, death, and tragedy in the Valencian countryside."

According to the Mayor of Elche, apologies must be made: "Those of us at the head of political institutions, all of us, were not up to the catastrophe that occurred in Valencia in the countryside on October 29 last year."

Furthermore, he referred to the "disaster of institutional management regarding water flows, the disaster of warnings, the disaster of planning itself and the consequences, blaming each other in an absolutely irresponsible manner."

"And I mean all of us, I'm not here trying to justify anyone. And in the end, the Valencian, the Elche resident, or the Spaniard who witnessed this spectacle, I think, was left completely shocked," he added.

In this regard, he pointed out: "We have not all been able to show an image of unity in the face of a tragedy that overwhelmed us and took nearly 300 lives. And this worries me, and I think it should invite those of us at the head of institutions to deeply reflect."

For all these reasons, Ruz advocated for "the need for public administrations" to "get their act together regarding proactive prevention and also reactive prevention."

"Both ways can be acted upon, which is what we have been trying to do from the town hall since October 28, as you well know, our Cecopal met the day before the flood to suspend classes," he added.

"We were called alarmists. Well, we did the right thing," he noted, then insisted that this situation "must be a turning point for everyone" because "no one will bring back the lives of the 230 people who died due to the flood and the disaster of planning and management."

He also emphasized that, "if this serves any purpose, it is to, on one hand, demonstrate that public institutions" cannot forget that they must "serve the people" and, on the other, that those in politics must be "the first" to manage "the direct reaction of public institutions to such serious situations."

"We, as we have always been, will be with whoever is at the head of the government of all Valencians, asking for coordination, asking for speed, and above all, asking that, although it is the least important today, that government and the president continue to fulfil their commitments to Elche, which is the most important," he concluded.