President of Valencia's Region Carlos Mazon at Valencia's Palau de la Generalitat on November 3, 2025. JOSE JORDAN / AFP
The heavily criticized leader of Spain's Valencia region said on Monday, November 3, he was stepping down, a year after the area was hit by floods in the country's deadliest natural disaster in a generation. "The reality is that today I am the focus of criticism, noise, hatred and tension," Carlos Mazon said in a televised address, adding: "I can't go on anymore."
Mazon has faced fierce scrutiny over his handling of the October 29, 2024 catastrophe that killed more than 230 people, but has consistently rebuffed calls for his resignation. Last week, relatives of the victims shouted "murderer", "coward" and "get out" at Mazon as he arrived for a state memorial service for the victims in the Mediterranean city of Valencia.
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After floods in Spain, the impossiblity of returning to normal: 'Apart from the volunteers, nobody helped us'
