A recent court order has unsettled the official story around Rita Barberá, tying her closest circle directly to the Azud corruption case. The ruling sets out how the former mayor protected her brother-in-law, José María Corbín, and vice-mayor Alfonso Grau, both central to a network of illegal urban deals and kickbacks during her time in office. Information from EFE and other Spanish media, the judge has ended the investigation phase and sent 38 people to trial, including current and former city and party officials.
For years, the Partido Popular carefully maintained Barberá’s image as “la alcaldesa de España,” even as evidence against her administration mounted. The tenth anniversary of her death has brought her name back into public debate, through court documents and a new episode of ‘Salvados’ tracing her rise and fall, at times through a sympathetic lens. As reported earlier, the program focused on the silence and isolation of her final years, as former allies distanced themselves while investigations intensified.
The court confirmed that three of Barberá’s nieces are among the accused, reinforcing the picture of a family-political network basic to Valencia’s city administration.
The court’s findings are clear: Barberá had an active role. She knew about and took part in urban planning decisions that benefited developers who hired Corbín as a fixer, drawing on his family connection to the mayor. Her sister, Corbín’s wife, managed Barberá’s schedule as chief of staff, tightening the web of influence. The judge’s report describes a system in which public progress came with a price, echoing the old saying, “everything for the people, but without the people.” Recent court summaries estimate that the Azud scheme involved about 3.6 million euros in illegal commissions and fictitious legal services.
Barberá’s death from liver cirrhosis in 2016 meant she was never prosecuted, and the Supreme Court closed the ‘pitufeo’ money laundering case, part of Operation Taula. Meanwhile, her closest collaborators faced growing legal pressure. Some who once pushed her out of the party later sought to defend her legacy, bestowing honors and even naming a viaduct after her. The current mayor, María José Catalá, and regional PP leaders have invoked Barberá’s memory as a political asset, despite the unresolved stains on her record. EFE and judicial sources say the judge’s decision highlighted Barberá’s personal support for Corbín, giving him special access to city contracts and shielding him from scrutiny.
The Azud case also reaches the opposition. The investigation found that the corruption network extended to the PSPV-PSOE, showing that the flow of illegal money and influence crossed party lines. The judge’s documents make clear that Valencia’s change under Barberá paired major civic projects and economic growth with questionable deals shaped by personal favors.
Spanish judicial and media sources describe the Azud case as a broad network of abuses in urban planning and public contracts. It involved bribery and rigged tenders, alongside land operations in Valencia and other municipalities in the region. Renewed attention to the case in September 2026 has exposed old divisions within the regional Partido Popular and highlighted uncomfortable ties between city officials, contractors and party elites.
Valencia’s political scene still moves between nostalgia and selective memory, even as the city reinvents itself. The latest court revelations challenge the polished version of Barberá’s legacy promoted by her successors and force the city to reckon with its recent past. The PP is trying to redeem her public image, while the courts bring the darker side of her administration to light. Valencia is left to face the real cost of its change and its political class’s reluctance to confront uncomfortable truths when power and loyalty are involved.
