This Tuesday, King Felipe VI visited the towns affected by the floods of October 29 again and asked the local, regional and central governments of Spain to work together to guarantee assistance to the populations.
“It is not easy for help to arrive, there are many procedures and controls to comply with. But it is important that they work and that all administrations work together. We must continue with the support. People ask us not to forget them. We will continue coming,” stated the head of state of Spain, in statements to journalists in Utiel, a town in the Valencian Community, the most affected by the floods, which caused 227 deaths.
In addition to Utiel, Felipe VI and the Queen of Spain, Letizia, visited this Tuesday Chiva, also in the Valencian Community, and Letur, in neighboring Castilla La Mancha.
This Tuesday, the monarchs were received with applause and cheers in the places where they passedafter on November 3 they heard insults and cries of “murderers” and were hit by mud thrown by people in Paiporta, in Valencia, in an episode considered unprecedented in the last 40 years, since the end of the dictatorship and the reestablishment of monarchy in Spain.
That day, Felipe VI and Letizia arrived in Paiporta accompanied by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the Regional Government of the Valencian Community, Carlos Mazón, who has been the main target of complaints and criticism from the population because of management of floods.
Faced with insults and attempted attacks, Sánchez and Mazón were removed from the streets of Paiporta on November 3, but Felipe VI and Letizia continued their visit and ended up speaking with the population and hugging several people.
The kings returned, this Tuesday, to the flooded area accompanied, in Xiva and Utiel, by the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, and by Carlos Mazón, who once again heard insults and requests for resignation, but in isolation, according to the media reported. reports on site.
Felipe VI stated, this Tuesday, that the situation on the ground “has already changed a lot” since the first days, but the recovery “will take a long time” and “it is necessary to maintain help and support”, also such as proximity and attention to the populations.
The King asked all administrations to work together, insisting that it will be “something that people will appreciate when they feel that the State is present.”
“One of the things that [as pessoas] What they repeat or remember most is that we do not forget them. The news evolves quickly, but it is necessary to maintain attention to all these populations that are so seriously affected,” he stated.
During the visits to the three towns, the monarchs spoke with residents, soldiers, police, volunteers and local authorities and promised that they will periodically visit the areas affected by the floods.
The floods of October 29 have generated criticism and exchanges of accusations between the central government of Spain, led by the socialists, and the regional government of the Valencian Community, chaired by the Popular Party (PP, right).
The origin of the accusations is the complaints of the population about the late warning in relation to the storm that triggered the floods and, later, also about the failures and delays in the provision of assistance to those affected by the floods.
The floods caused at least 227 deaths, 219 of which in the Valencia region.
Source: Observadora
