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Óscar Puente resigns after Urda rail disaster, leaving election list

Spain's transport minister tells Parliament that two grave accidents in less than a year make remaining in office incompatible with political responsibility.

Channel: EL PAÍS ·

SpainStory of November 4, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of EL PAÍS's most watched videos since yesterday, with 39,530 views.

EL PAÍS: A Spanish daily newspaper published since 1976, owned by the PRISA group. 3.4M subscribers and 2.4B views.

Puente dimite: “Un ministro no puede continuar en su puesto con un accidente de este tipo” | EL PAÍS

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0:28Puente says a transport minister cannot remain in office after two accidents of such gravity within a year.
1:58He invokes Portuguese minister Jorge Coelho's 2001 resignation as a precedent for accepting political responsibility.
2:38He rejects the idea that all politicians are alike and argues for a strong state and public services.
3:16He announces his resignation from the ministry and withdrawal from Valladolid's November 29 election list.
4:35He thanks his family, then addresses Socialist Party members and expresses gratitude to Pedro Sánchez.
6:06He argues that spending cuts do not strengthen public services before concluding his farewell.

Óscar Puente has announced his resignation as Spain's transport minister and withdrawn from the November election, telling lawmakers that he cannot remain in office after two serious railway accidents in less than a year.

The announcement came at the end of his appearance before Parliament's standing committee to explain the circumstances of the Urda train disaster in Toledo province. Spain's newspaper EL PAÍS reports a death toll of 69 in the crash.

Puente says he decided to leave within minutes of the tragedy but wanted first to examine the initial findings. He presents his departure as a matter of dignity and political responsibility. He also invokes Jorge Coelho, the Portuguese minister who resigned in 2001, and his argument that responsibility cannot be left without anyone to bear it.

Just over three minutes into the recording, Puente makes the scope of his departure explicit: he is giving up both the ministry and his place on the Valladolid candidate list for the November 29 election. He says no individual is bigger than the organization they belong to, and that his ego has never been bigger than his party.

The farewell also becomes a defense of politics and public services. Puente rejects the assertion that all politicians are alike, arguing that people need a strong, fair state with good public services. Later, he says spending cuts do not strengthen those services.

He thanks his family for enduring the pressures of his public role, urges members of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) to take pride in what they have achieved, and expresses particular gratitude to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for his trust.

At the close, Puente gathers his papers as lawmakers in the room rise and applaud, and the session ends.

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