The subdelegate of the Government in Valencia, José Rodríguez Jurado, stated this Monday in the Senate that on October 29, 2024, the day the dana caused 232 deaths, he was "lying in bed" due to a lumbalgia, which is why it was the general secretary of the Government Delegation who replaced him at the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi).
During his intervention before the Senate investigation committee on the management of the dana, he indicated that he was enjoying a few days of rest, a vacation he had scheduled "before the summer." However, on October 28 he suffered a lumbalgia and decided to stay in Valencia the next day. He added that he did not process a medical leave, although he was "lying in bed" and it was impossible for him to travel to Cecopi.
The senator of the PP José Antonio Monago insisted several times on his responsibility in managing the crisis, to which Rodríguez Jurado responded that he did not give instructions that day "as he was not in full capacity." He did explain that he communicated a couple of times with the colonel of the Valencia Command and asked him to channel the requests for support through the general secretary.
He added that he received calls and messages from mayors, local police, and other municipal officials asking for reinforcements, and that he conveyed those demands to the person responsible who was assuming his duties.
In his account, Rodríguez Jurado noted that he physically returned to the Government Delegation at 7:30 a.m. on October 30, despite still having "severe pain." He recalled that his last contact with the general secretary occurred around one in the morning of that same night.
"I did everything possible, I dragged myself out of bed, I told my wife to tie my shoes," he described, emphasizing that "he could not stay at home in such a circumstance."
Socialist Criticism of the Appearance in the Senate
In parallel, the socialist senators have questioned the usefulness of the subdelegate's appearance in the Upper House and have accused the PP of using it to "cover up" the appearances that were taking place this Monday in the investigation committee of Congress regarding the same dana.
They have emphasized that, while Rodríguez Jurado was answering questions in the Senate, in the Congress the president of the Provincial Council of Valencia, Vicente Mompó, and the former councilor of Justice and Interior and head of Emergencies of the Generalitat during the dana, Salomé Pradas, were doing so.
"You are here solely and exclusively because the Popular Party wants to cover up and make it seem the same," a socialist senator has denounced, who also recalled that, after 31 previous appearances in the Senate committee, none of the people called to testify belonged to the Valencian Government. At the same time, she has again demanded that the victims of the dana be allowed to intervene in the Upper House.