Six days after the tragic train accident in Urda (Toledo), the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, announced his resignation this Tuesday after appearing before the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies. The announcement puts an end to a week marked by doubts about his continuity in office, given the demands of the opposition and other political groups close to the Government to resign and the assumption of political responsibilities for the tragedy in Urda, only nine months after the tragic accident in Adamuz. Both incidents left a toll of 116 dead and hundreds injured.
On the same day, October 28, after the accident in Urda, the minister avoided commenting on his resignation and assured that his priority was to clarify the causes of the accident, in which 69 people died. "At this moment, what I am thinking about is clarifying this and trying to resolve it, I am not thinking about myself," he said then from the Adif command center in Atocha.
That possibility gained strength after the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, appeared from the scene of the accident and described as "unaffordable" that Spain had suffered two high-speed rail tragedies in the same year, in reference to the accident in Adamuz (Córdoba), on January 18. The president then promised to go "to the end" of the investigation and act "forcefully" if negligence or failures in the security systems were confirmed.
His words were interpreted as a possible prelude to the minister's departure. However, government sources told 20minutos on October 29 that Puente's resignation was not on the table and that the minister continued to have the president's full confidence, considering that the accident was not related to his management. In this context, the Ministry of Transportation announced that Puente would request to appear at his own request before the Permanent Deputation of Congress, in addition to offering a new press conference the next day to continue reporting on the investigations.
Political pressure grew despite Sánchez's support
Despite the closing of ranks of the Executive and the PSOE around Puente, the pressure for his resignation has been constant in recent days. The PP demanded his dismissal and also demanded explanations from Sánchez, while Vox filed a complaint against the minister for reckless homicide. Also from the left of the PSOE and from union organizations: Sumar, ERC and Podemos demanded his urgent appearance, while CCOO, CSIF and the Railway Circulation Union criticized that Puente had initially pointed out the actions of an Adif operator as the main hypothesis of the accident.
However, the minister again ruled out his departure on Friday in an extensive press conference in which he defended that his responsibility was precisely to continue leading the crisis. "My way of assuming responsibilities is to show my face," he said then. In fact, Puente acknowledged to journalists in an informal conversation that he had made his position available to Sánchez after the tragedy, but that the president had rejected his resignation, considering it would be "unfair." Puente insisted that his obligation was not to have been in the command center on the day of the accident, but rather to remain "in command" of the institutional response.
The pressure on Puente continued over the weekend. The Frente Amplio candidate, Ada Colau, demanded her resignation "as soon as possible" due to political responsibility, while the PNV, the BNG and UGT also demanded that responsibilities be assumed for the two railway tragedies. Moncloa, however, publicly maintained its support for the Minister of Transportation and his continuity at the forefront of the crisis.
From ruling out his resignation to announcing it in Congress
This same Tuesday, Puente himself once again ruled out the possibility of a resignation, in the press conference after the Council of Ministers. The outgoing minister assured that he had neither made decisions that caused the accident nor had he omitted actions that could prevent it, and defended that he had always been "at his job and showing his face." He also revealed that the members of Sumar in the Government had not demanded his departure, but had received signs of support.
However, Puente recognized that some of the requests regarding his decision were legitimate, although he rejected others coming from the opposition. "I can understand what about Ada Colau, I don't agree with it but I understand it. What I can't understand is that Mr. Feijóo asks me for it," he explained, stating that he understood some of the arguments opting for her departure and anticipating that the appearance at the Permanent Deputation would also deal with her political responsibilities.
An unforeseen resignation
Finally, at the end of the parliamentary appearance of more than four hours in which he gave explanations to the political groups of Congress, Puente has unexpectedly announced his resignation as Minister of Transport, as well as his resignation to lead the PSOE candidacy for Valladolid in the general elections on November 29.
"I made the decision about my future in the first minutes after the tragedy, as I was heading to the Adif control center, so I let my family know," revealed the minister, visibly moved and addressing the question of political responsibility for the Urda accident, which the majority of parliamentary groups had demanded of him throughout his appearance.
"A Transport Minister of a country like Spain cannot continue in his position with two accidents of this severity in one year," acknowledged Puente, who also explained that he had decided to make his resignation public in Congress because it was "the place where it makes the most sense." As detailed, he had decided to wait to complete the first investigations into the accident, "the most urgent and cannot be postponed work", and to adopt the first measures, approved this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers.
