The initial cordiality between the Central Government and the Junta de Andalucía, observed after the Adamuz tragedy, has dissipated three months later. In a pre-electoral context for the Andalusian elections on May 17, Óscar Puente has shifted from praising Juanma Moreno's management to holding him responsible for an alleged delayed response from the 112 emergency services, which fall under regional jurisdiction.
During a tense debate in the Congress, the minister, who is the highest political authority at Adif, urged Moreno to take responsibility for what he described as "serious negligence." Simultaneously, victims of the accident demonstrated outside the Congress, demanding "truth, justice, and guarantees" and greater involvement from the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. They displayed 47 chairs with the names of the 46 fatalities from the Adamuz incident and the train driver who died the following day in another accident in Gélida (Barcelona).
“"When will Mr. Moreno Bonilla, his advisor, and the Government of Andalusia assume their corresponding responsibility, which is nothing less than providing urgent explanations to the victims of Adamuz regarding this serious negligence, as I have done since the first day of the investigation? I am not asking him to resign; I am only asking for a very simple thing: that he come out and respond to these accusations."
The debate in the Congress turned into a battleground, where the minister attempted to deflect criticism from the Popular Party, who pointed fingers at him for the lack of maintenance on high-speed tracks. This was the first time Puente offered explanations after the release of a Civil Guard report, submitted to the judge investigating the case, which certified that the Adamuz track broke a day before the accident, but the system failed to alert due to its "lack of reliability."
In response to questions from Popular Party deputies Elías Bendodo and Eduardo Carazo, who called for his resignation, Puente read excerpts describing a precarious initial response to the disaster, including that emergency personnel had to work "with paper and pencil" due to a complete system blockage of the 112. The minister suggested that the lack of coordination could have worsened the consequences of the railway disaster, stating that "it is possible that this very serious lack of coordination and immediate assistance from medical services may have allegedly caused more victims, more injured, and more severe injuries."
This tone sharply contrasts with Puente's statements shortly after the January 18 incident, when he praised Moreno Bonilla's actions with a resounding "I can only say 'chapeau'." Now, a month before the Andalusian elections and with victims demanding resignations in his Ministry, the minister has adopted a more confrontational stance.
