Madrid (AFP) - The Spanish Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, announced his resignation this Tuesday almost a week after the country experienced its second railway tragedy this year, further complicating the political horizon for Pedro Sánchez less than a month before the general elections.

First modification: 11/04/2026 - 16:57

"I want to inform you that not only am I resigning from my position as Minister of Transport, but I am also resigning from being part of the electoral lists" for the November 29 elections, Puente explained before the permanent deputation of the Congress of Deputies.

The minister, whose resignation the opposition repeatedly demanded, had ruled out leaving his post in the first days following the collision between two high-speed trains that left at least 69 dead last Wednesday.

"A Transport Minister of a country like Spain cannot continue in his position with two accidents of this severity in less than a year. No matter how different they may be, and whether or not he has direct responsibility for them. It is a question of political dignity, coherence and empathy with the victims," ​​he assured, however, at the end of a long appearance in the body that represents Congress after the dissolution of the chambers due to the call for elections.

Puente - considered very close to the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez - was also at the head of the ministry when on January 18 two high-speed trains collided near the town of Adamuz, in Andalusia (south), leaving 46 dead.

Highly questioned by the right-wing and far-right opposition at the time, his political situation was critical after Wednesday's accident, which once again shocked the country.

"I made the decision about my future in the first minutes in which the tragedy occurred, as soon as I became aware of it," he said about the second incident. "I am making this decision public today, in the place where it makes the most sense, at the headquarters of national sovereignty," he detailed in his last intervention after more than four hours of debate.

"Óscar Puente has stood up, he has given solutions and, later, he has stepped aside. Out of dignity. Out of his own will. Out of respect for the victims and the progressive project," Pedro Sánchez reacted shortly after on his X account.

"Showing your face"

Hours before, Puente himself, 57 years old, had appeared at a press conference after the council of ministers. He was repeatedly asked if he planned to resign.

"I have not made any decision that has contributed to causing this damage. I have not omitted to make any political decision that has contributed to causing this damage. And when I had to respond I was at my job and I have responded as I am doing today, showing my face without hiding," he defended.

"There are three radical differences with the actions of the Popular Party," he added in reference to the criticized management of the floods in Valencia in 2024 by the local authorities, members of this right-wing opposition group.

In that same appearance, the minister presented an "extraordinary plan to reinforce high-speed safety," as well as a series of aid for survivors and the families of the victims.

"Get Sánchez out"

According to the first elements of the investigation, the Urda tragedy began with a computer breakdown that forced several trains to stop, after which an erroneous order was given from the control center in Madrid for one of the trains to resume running at normal speed.

That train would have hit another detainee "at a speed that is estimated between 160 and 200 km/h," according to a first information note from the independent authority that investigates these accidents.

This second tragedy occurred one month before the early general elections on November 29, increasing pressure on the left-wing government, already highly questioned by the opposition after the railway disaster in January.

"116 lives late," said Ester Muñoz, the spokesperson for the opposition Popular Party, on X, after learning of Puente's resignation. "On 29N we have the moral obligation to remove Sánchez from the Government in order to rebuild Spain," he added.

Shaken by several crises, the socialist leader seeks re-election, although the polls are unfavorable.

© 2026 AFP

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