Right-leaning opposition voices occupied the Monday agenda, urging stronger protections and proactive measures in regional fire policy. Elisa Díaz, a spokesperson for Environment within the popular group in Las Cortes, called on president Ximo Puig to implement sharper fire prevention strategies and to pivot away from sedentary policies affecting the mountains. She stressed the need for forest management, sustainability, forestry, bioeconomy, and crop care before a major crisis unfolds. If proper prevention studies had been conducted, communities would be better prepared and investment in firefighting equipment could be avoided or reduced in the long run.
The public spokesman urged Puig to heed the experts and reverse what she described as a stagnant approach to mountain policy. Each year the PP brings forward a long list of proposals aimed at rural areas to ward off fires, a matter that is crucial for addressing climate change and rural depopulation. Díaz stated from the public group that sustainable forest management should be central to policy discussions at the Community level, with special measures to prevent fires in rural areas and clear messaging from forestry experts to the Consell that Puig has not fully listened to.
According to Díaz, the current prevention policies are not aligned with reality. They overlook that about 60 percent of the forest floor in the community is soil-based and therefore requires active public-private cooperation. Díaz claimed that when Botànic de Puig arrived, sustainable forest management projects in the mountains were halted. Projects funded by European programs under the Rural Development Program 2014-2020 were replaced or cut, complicating firefighting efforts and aid to small forest owners. She warned that the mountains are a powder keg of fallen pines, dry matter, and fuels that raise fire risks year after year.
Finally, the spokesperson argued that expansion of the budget must align with expert and landowner demands. Sustainable and active forest management should be grounded in forestry and bioeconomy, and Puig should stop hindering progress with incremental changes that add friction. The community currently faces high rates of crop abandonment, a situation Díaz characterized as deeply problematic for long-term fire resilience.
José Luis Aguirre, a deputy from the Vox Comunidad Valenciana parliamentary group, criticized both the Valencian Government and the Sánchez administration for failing to prevent and clear the Valencia mountains during winter. He argued that expert analyses reveal that prevention, not excuses, should guide policy, especially given the record fire season described as the worst in the historical series. Aguirre asserted that work in the Community of Valencia does not happen when it matters most and challenged the government’s attribution of fires to climate change, suggesting a larger portion stems from mismanagement.
Aguirre pressed for transparency, requesting the Consell to disclose the percentage of prevention plans actually implemented relative to those planned in municipalities and nature parks. He lamented that conditions are not favorable and noted that the problem also affects private Valencia forest owners who have seen subsidies for prevention decline from 2500 euros to 800 euros per hectare, a level he called completely insufficient.
In response, Paco Gil, the Environmental Spokesperson for PSPV-PSOE at the Valencia Courts, rebutted the allegations of deliberate neglect by the People’s Party. He emphasized that forest policy under the current administration operates year-round, not just in the summer. He credited sustained work and citizen responsibility for making 2021 the third consecutive year with the fewest wildfires in official statistics. Gil highlighted the Consell de Puig’s financial commitment to prevention and noted a 24 percent increase in the budget for firefighting since 2016, reaching 101 million euros. He argued that the PP concentrates fires only in summer, whereas the administration maintains an annual action plan that guarantees ongoing preparedness. He framed firefighting as a collective duty, where one well-timed call can make a decisive difference.