PP and Vox have once again demanded this Tuesday in Congress that, even if it is not "sufficient," the Transport minister, Óscar Puente, submit his resignation for the railway accident of last week in Urda (Toledo), in which 69 people have died and numerous injured have been reported. Both parties have emphasized that the tragedy occurs just nine months after the January incident in Adamuz (Córdoba). By contrast, the Government's partners, despite continuing to criticize, have moderated their tone compared to previous days.
The PP spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, reproached Puente in the Standing Committee that "how well he is at explaining why people die on trains and how badly he is at preventing people from dying on trains," accusing him of trying to "cynically confuse public exposure with the assumption of responsibilities" and of having spent nine months acting as if the Adamuz accident had not happened, without adopting measures.
Because of this behavior, Muñoz has defined him as "negligent, frivolous, incompetent, and unable to empathize with other people's pain," has branded his management as "nauseating," and has gone so far as to question "how many mobile phones were ringing desperately" in the stricken carriages in Urda while he "was with his team building a narrative and filtering audios."
The 'popular' leader has further stated that "Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. It is not a one-off failure; it is systemic. And it is not a coincidence; it is the causality of all his decisions, his actions, and his omissions," urging him to assume his political responsibility, among other reasons, for not yet having implemented a new security system when "the old one suffers constant falls," for ignoring the warnings from the CIAF, and for having put "security behind his interests, raising speed to 350 kilometers so as to make a video giving a pin to his colleagues."
From Vox, its spokesperson, Pepa Rodríguez de Millán, has begun her remarks by asking the minister whether he manages to sleep knowing that he has "116 deaths on his back" and "how many more dead people it takes for someone to take any responsibility." In her view, "In the charred heap of the embankment in Urda, all the degradation that this Government has brought us together is concentrated."
Rodríguez de Millán has accused Puente of lacking “neither dignity nor shame,” as well as “humanity and heart,” and has described him as a “puppet” in the hands of his “boss,” in reference to President Pedro Sánchez, whom he sees as “desperate” but “not because he’s looking for the truth,” but rather because he is articulating a narrative that “at least saves the election campaign.” After warning that Vox will not stop until the minister assumes his criminal responsibilities for the accidents in Adamuz and Urda, all the lawmakers of the party have left the chamber.
Government partners: criticism, but a more moderate tone
The United Left lawmaker and number three on Frente Amplio for Madrid, Toni Valero, has described Puente’s appearance as “insufficient” for not questioning the liberalization of the rail system, which, he has denounced, has turned Spain into the European Union country “with more people killed in train accidents in the last 25 years.”
For his part, Sumar spokesperson Verónica Martínez Barbero has argued that the minister must resign because Spain has accumulated two serious incidents in high-speed rail so far this year. “From Frente Amplio we ask him to resign, we ask him for it with respect, recognizing his career and convinced that taking on that responsibility would be a final valuable service from his ministry. And believe me when I tell you that we say it for real because we think it’s also the best for you,” she concluded.
The ERC spokesperson, Gabriel Rufián, has defended that Puente is a “good politician” who at least “faces up,” but he has underscored that “someone has to take responsibility” and has challenged the PSOE about what it would demand if the Transport postholder were from the PP. He did, however, clarify that Puente’s future is “secondary” and “a distraction,” considering that after the “wild liberalization” the price of tickets dropped by 24%, traffic grew by 47%, investment only by 9%, and today 115 people have been recorded as having died.
Risk in high-speed rail and a culture of responsibility
The PNV lawmaker Mikel Legarda has also requested the minister’s resignation, highlighting that Spain already concentrates 54% of the victims in high-speed rail accidents and that in 2026 there will be “more probability of dying in Spanish high-speed rail than traveling by car.” He has insisted that his demand does not respond to “political scraps,” but to a “culture of political responsibility.” “We believe you have missed the train of trust and you no longer have a remedy,” he concluded.
From Bildu, Mertxe Aizpurua has pointed out that her group is not going to prejudge or determine in a categorical manner the causes or responsibilities of the accident, nor join in dynamics “with political and electoral overtones” that dictate guilty parties in advance, appealing to “prudence and responsibility.” That said, she has warned that they will not allow blame to be laid on the workers.
The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, believes that the “true human error” in the Urda accident is the “deregulation” of the rail system, which puts “business ahead of the safety of people.” Therefore, besides calling for Puente’s resignation, something she defines as “a social outcry,” she has demanded renationalization of the service. Néstor Rego, from the BNG, has been less forceful, limiting himself to highlighting that the minister himself is “aware” that it is “inevitable to assume responsibilities” and that broad sectors are calling for his departure from the Executive.
Controversy over the recordings and defense of the PSOE
The groups have agreed in criticizing the leak of the day-of-accident audio recordings, recordings “biased,” according to the PP, with which, in Vox’s view, the Government has tried to “blame some poor workers” for a responsibility that belongs to the Ministry.
Rufián has denounced that the PSOE is acting the way the PP did in the Angrois accident, “making the life of the driver harder,” a point the BNG has also recalled, describing it as “unacceptable” that the situation be repeated. Belarra has criticized that blame has been made to fall on “the weakest link in the chain” through the leaking of data from the deceased driver, something she considers “a moral low.”
The Socialist spokesperson, Patxi López, has likewise referred to the naming of the Angrois driver by the now leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, then president of the Xunta, and has regretted that Puente’s resignation is demanded when, in his view, he has limited himself to relating “the facts as they were” and has been “infinitely more prudent and sensible” than the ‘popular’ leader.
“The minister must resign for being where he had to be, for putting himself on the line and not doing what others did, an exercise in escapism,” López has ironized, who has acknowledged that the call for responsibilities is “legitimate,” but has asked not to “confuse it” with “the rush to find guilty parties.”
In his opinion, "pointing out the minister and asking for his resignation neither clarifies the accident nor protects the next traveler". "The minister's responsibility is not to get out of the way, but to explain what happened and ensure the implementation of concrete measures, as has already begun to be done today", he has emphasized.