Still reeling from the DANA that devastated Valencia’s province and with search efforts for the missing continuing, the political handling of the crisis is increasingly under fire and the scrutiny extends beyond what happened this week, according to El País. The leadership of the Emergency department faces questions tied to events at the start of the current legislature, including the president Carlos Mazón’s move to dismantle the Valencian Emergency Unit that had been launched by Botànic. Much attention is now on Emilio Argüeso, the regional secretary for Security and Emergencies, who has all but disappeared from the public stage, especially when compared to the prominence once shown by José María Ángel during similar crises.
These days there is a strong reminder of one of Mazón’s early moves, when his government was a PP and Vox coalition. He eliminated the Valencian Emergency Unit, an agency created in February 2023 by the Botànic alliance led by socialist Ximo Puig. The decision to delete Mazón’s tweet on the same Tuesday, which included a video of him asserting that the storm would weaken in intensity from 18:00 that day, has also come under substantial question from observers who emphasize the need for clear, timely communication during severe weather events.
Another factor pointing to a problematic start for the Emergency area is the delay in replacing Argüeso. The Botànic-era secretary could not be replaced until September last year, after he spent a month and a half pressing for his exit from the regional government following the elections. This secretariat belonged to the Conselleria de Justicia e Interior, which was tied to Vox and led by Elisa Núñez until Santiago Abascal decided to break with the PP in mid July. After Mazón undertook a broader cabinet reshuffle, a new phase began with Salomé Pradas serving as consellera.
Reflecting Argüeso’s public agenda, on Tuesday, the day when nearly 500 liters per square meter drenched Valencia in under eight hours, he held a scheduled meeting with the head of the service for Public Shows, Recreational Activities and Bullfighting Festivities. This gathering in Valencia was planned between 12:30 and 13:00, at a moment when the Centro de Coordinación de Emergencias issued a hydrological alert for the area around the barranco del Poyo.
This meeting has become part of the criticisms directed at his handling of the DANA, as Argüeso did not appear during the floods. His last post on X was a retweet on October 26 of a piece by Salinas Pradas praising Errejón. Experts in emergency management criticize actions such as the fact that Aemet had already warned on Monday about the severity of the DANA, while the population alert was not issued until after 20:00 on Tuesday.
Sources contest that crisis meetings began only when the downpour was already sweeping Utiel, the Magro river and the barranco del Poyo, a sequence that eventually contributed to the turmoil in towns like Paiporta, Torrent and Aldaia. Those experts believe a more precise response could have discouraged residents from heading to garages to try saving their vehicles, thereby avoiding additional risk and damage.
Expelled from Ciudadanos amid accusations of working for the PP
At the center of the controversy over how the DANA was managed stands Emilio Argüeso, whose political trajectory has sparked much debate. One of his more controversial chapters involved his links to the failed motion of no confidence that Ciudadanos and the PSOE backed in Murcia. Another episode came in March 2021, when he was expelled from Ciudadanos amid accusations of soliciting defectors to join the Partido Popular. Those who accused him reaffirmed their suspicions when Argüeso appeared in Mazón’s Council as a senior official, first as regional secretary of the Sociosanitario system and later as head of Security and Emergencies.
The national leadership of Ciudadanos pressed for him to resign his Senate seat after the Murcia controversy, a move the expelled figure attributed to a vendetta orchestrated by Inés Arrimadas due to his ties with Fran Hervías, the former Organization Secretary who had shifted to the PP. That move intensified the decline of Ciudadanos in the Valencian Community, coming soon after the departure of Toni Cantó, another major setback for the party in the region.
In the party’s public statement announcing Argüeso’s expulsion, it was stated that he had offered privileges to party officials and members to induce them to defect to the opposition. Arrimadas herself added that Argüeso had made remarks through institutional Senate channels with the aim of harming the party’s interests. Born in Alicante and professionally linked to Murcia, Argüeso joined Ciudadanos after much of the Zaplanismo wing left the PP in the heat of internal battles with Francisco Camps. He contributed to the growth of the naranjas both in Alicante and in Murcia, only to be expelled amid accusations of working for the PP.