Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’ words may come back to haunt him.
“If they need more resources, they should ask for them,” he famously said on November 2, three days after a cold hurricane had struck his country’s coast in Valencia causing flash floods that killed over 200 people and destroyed entire towns.
His words were uttered as the local communities grappled with the aftermath of the storm that left those remaining without shelter or clean water and streets completely blocked with cars and debris that hid the bodies of the dead. People from areas less affected had spontaneously mobilized, carrying in bottled water, food, and shovels on foot to relieve the most immediate necessities. Meanwhile, Sánchez basically refused to mobilize the resources of the central government to assist people in the region.
Specifically, he did not declare a national emergency despite the fact that the president of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, a member of the main opposition party, Partido Popular, had already requested the help of the Emergency Military Unit, a sector of the army dedicated to assisting in disasters such as the one in question.
Legal experts warn that Sánchez’s lack of action could be an administrative offense.
Experts consulted by El Debate told the news site that “conditioning your help to an express request” of those affected— in this case of the head regional government in representation of ordinary people—may not be a crime but ”does point to a direct responsibility” of the State in worsening the consequences of the natural disaster.
Moreover, according to El Debate’s sources, it is not necessary to prove negligence on Sánchez’ part as the several complaints filed against him have claimed. According to recent jurisprudence, government administrations can be held accountable for simply failing to comply with what is normally expected of them in a given situation, including “inactivity” that results in damage.
Tellingly, Sánchez did eventually declare a national emergency but only this week, buried in the legislative package of financial assistance to the flood-damaged areas. This, legal experts advise, could prove that the disaster was in fact a national emergency, and they point out the emergency was surely no less serious two weeks earlier when Sánchez had refused to declare it.
