The 59-year-old former employment minister was travelling to Seville for a business event when the Iryo train she was aboard was hit by a Renfe AVE near Urda. The crash, reported two days before her funeral, caused at least 69 deaths and dozens of injuries. At her funeral on 30 October 2026 in her home town of San Juan del Puerto, Huelva, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría spoke about Báñez’s commitment to helping others.
The PP and CEOE had earlier said they had no confirmed news of her after the crash, according to the earlier crash report. Báñez also served as president of Fundación CEOE. Her remains were taken to the Servisa funeral home in Huelva, where the public could attend the wake before she was transferred to San Juan del Puerto for the funeral.
The funeral Mass at San Juan Bautista parish was scheduled for 16:30. The coffin arrived shortly after 16:10, and Huelva’s bishop, Santiago Gómez Sierra, presided over the service. The Mass ended shortly after 17:30. Báñez was then buried in the municipal cemetery in a private family interment. The church was full for the service, according to Diario de León.
Speaking in Spanish, Sáenz de Santamaría said: «Defendía la política como una manera de ayudar a la gente y vivía y se desvivía por ayudar a la gente. Por arreglar problemas y no crearlos. Por hacer acuerdos y no generar discordias. Por entender a todo el mundo. Por ponerse en el lugar del otro». She described Báñez as someone who saw politics as a way to help people and worked to resolve problems and build agreements. She added: «A mí me gustaría que se la recordara así. Por el amor que tenía por Huelva, Andalucía, España y por todo el mundo al que podía ayudar».
Sáenz de Santamaría, a personal friend of Báñez, served as deputy prime minister in Mariano Rajoy’s government. Báñez was employment minister from 2011 to 2018. Former prime minister Rajoy and former minister Ana Pastor attended, along with other political and business figures. Rajoy described Báñez at the wake as “una mujer muy leal,” ABC reported.
CEOE president Antonio Garamendi also paid tribute. He called Báñez «una persona increíble» and «una de las personas más generosas que he conocido», adding that «en los tiempos que vivimos: era una persona dialogante». Garamendi said he could not explain what he was feeling and would not forget her: «No la voy a olvidar, la voy a tener al lado todo el día».
Among the other attendees were PP Secretary-General Miguel Tellado and Andalusian parliamentary president Ana Mestre. Andalusian PP Secretary-General Antonio Repullo and ATA president and CEOE vice-president Lorenzo Amor were also there. Báñez’s career spanned national government and the employers’ organization. She was leading Fundación CEOE at the time of her death.
