Just like the world champion Argentina team owns “Scaloneta” and the Spanish League winner Barcelona claims “Xavineta,” the People’s Party uses a distinctive campaign vehicle named “Mazoneta.” The van, in which Generalitat candidate Carlos Mazón toured the Valencian Community step by step, became the campaign’s nerve center, a place where the Alicante leader and his team gathered to ensure not a single detail was left to chance.
The term from the football world is akin to someone saying “get on the boat.” The man from Alicante is at the helm of a campaign ship bound for the Palau de la Generalitat. Journeys stretch far and wide, with no day free of meetings. The candidate faced the challenge of balancing public commitments with family life, including finding moments for video calls with his wife and children.
Music
Music features prominently in “Mazoneta.” A campaign playlist was created with one rule: every picker adds a fresh song. Mazón chose Serrat’s Mediterráneo, while trustee and state Communications Minister Santiago Lumbreras selected Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. Each participant in the car contributed to the shared soundtrack. The national drumbeat of the party extends from Alberto Núñez Feijóo to Cuca Gamarra, Miguel Tellado, and Elías Bendodo.
“Our days are 28 hours,” says José Manuel Cuenca, Mazón’s chief of staff. The team agrees on the intensity of the boss, an energy they say radiates to everyone. They feel mobilization in every municipality and believe the good mood acts as a vitamin that helps offset the fatigue from weeks of campaigning. Some days unfold as marathons: more than ten events in a single day. One of the longest days started in Castellón’s Vinaròs and finished in Elche after visiting Benicarló, Peñíscola, Onda, and Villena, stretching from north to south.
Feijóo sees the PP winning with “self-respect,” and Mazón asks supporters to concentrate the vote on what is popular.
“Mazoneta” has become the campaign office for the work of popular candidates. It doubles as a hub for online videos aimed at broadening reach on platforms like Instagram. The long highway stretches become Mazón’s study ground for the policy measures he plans to implement. Those who know him best insist he has memorized the PP’s program for managing autonomy. “We are a team with strong connections. Carlos made us highly adaptable,” Lumbreras notes.
Everyone contributes to each task. “I focus on drafting notes, but I’m not afraid to help set up chairs, run cables, or arrange stages at events,” says Maite Gómez, Director of Communications. When meals are needed, a quick sandwich is grabbed from any nearby place, then the team moves on. This is a hands-on leader who participates in missions. The team keeps moving forward without losing momentum.
6,000 Curtains
Mazón’s campaign manager, Miguel Barrachina, estimates around 6,000 actions undertaken by the PP to secure victory in the 28M elections. “Carlos sticks to a grueling schedule. He has boundless energy and treats every strategic decision as personal. The entire team stands united with him in this campaign,” Barrachina says. Top regional figures—Toni Pérez (Alicante), Vicente Mompó (Valencia), and Marta Barrachina (Castellón)—lead regional organization under the coordination of Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca, the deputy secretary for regional organization.
“He’s a busy man who wants to be everywhere, and that makes sense,” Pérez Llorca adds. Health and employment stand as Mazón’s top priorities, with the aim that every municipality has strong candidates when the campaign begins. The leadership places emphasis on delivering tangible benefits for all communities.
Recently, Cuenca has been the most frequent companion, highlighting Mazón’s discipline as a core virtue. “Every day he puts on his sneakers and goes out to work. Running is how he starts,” Cuenca notes. He then rides the Mazoneta toward the final destination, the Palau de la Generalitat.