As a councilor of a small city (Arrecife), I have learned to see politics as a tool that can and should be used for the common good. However, I must say that in recent days I have felt a deep shame in observing the management of the floods in Valencia and the behavior of the political class in the midst of the crisis. It is not only that the solutions are insufficient; it is that, in many cases, politics has gone from being the solution to being part of the problem.
Valencia, with its history of heavy rains and a geography prone to flooding, should not be surprised by phenomena such as the DANA. But what should have become an example of preparation and rapid response has revealed, once again, the shortcomings of a political system more focused on the power struggle than on serving the citizens.
As a public servant, I feel ashamed to see how, instead of coordinating efforts to protect people, political leaders engage in sterile debates and cross-blaming that does not help anyone.
The reality is harsh: when politics becomes an obstacle, it ceases to serve its purpose. The management of the floods in Valencia has shown that, often, the political machinery is so slow and cumbersome that it stands between the problem and the solution. The endless discussions, the promises of budgets that never arrive, and the unwillingness to act before the tragedy strikes are symptoms of a system that urgently needs a transformation. Meanwhile, the citizens pay the price.
From my position in Arrecife (small, as I said), where resources are scarce and citizens depend on the direct and constant commitment of their representatives, it is difficult to understand how in a place with more resources and visibility like Valencia the response has been so disappointing.
I have seen through the media, citizens losing everything, not only because of the force of the water, but because of the negligence of those who should have put barriers, both physical and political, to prevent these disasters.
It is painful to observe how, after the storm, politicians return to the known script: blame others, promise revisions, and announce projects that dissolve over time. Meanwhile, citizens know that, when the next rain comes, the same deficiencies will find them just as vulnerable or more.
This is why people are starting to lose faith not only in the parties, but in politics itself as a means of change and protection.
I find it inevitable to feel that politics has lost its way. When electoral calculation is prioritized over the needs of the people; when leaders are more concerned about the polls than about the suffering they see in the streets; when resources are allocated to campaigns instead of reinforcing critical infrastructures, politics ceases to be the solution and becomes the problem.
As a councilor, and as a citizen, this situation leaves me with a bitter taste. I don't want to see any more how the management of a storm becomes a spectacle of improvisation and empty rhetoric. I want public representatives in Valencia and in other cities to remember, let us all remember, that politics is not an end in itself, but a means to make life better for those who trust us.
And if we continue to act as if the problems were inevitable and inaction, excusable, then politics will cease to be the engine of hope that it should be.
It is time for politicians to look in the mirror and recognize that, at times, we are part of the problem. Only then will it be possible to change, not only to face the rains, but to restore the confidence of a citizenry that, more than ever, needs to believe that politics can be the solution.
