Veteran Spanish Senator Rita Barbera dies of heart attack amid corruption scandal

Rita Barbera, the former mayor of Valencia and a veteran figure in the right-wing People's Party (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, died of a heart attack on Wednesday morning.

Spanish media reported that medical services confirmed the death of the 68-year-old at 8:30 a.m. local time (0730 GMT) in the hotel where she was staying close to the Spanish Congress building.

Barbera, who had been the mayor of Valencia for 24 years before being ousted in the local elections in May 2015, had been in the headlines for several months as the result of a corruption scandal (Operation Taula) affecting the PP in the Valencia region.

Her death comes just 48 hours after she had been questioned in the Supreme Court over her involvement as an official suspect in the case which involved the laundering of money earned from "cash-for-favors" deals over public works contracts to illegally finance the PP.

Although Barbera denied all knowledge of the scheme, she was forced out of the PP in September 2016, despite having been a member of the party since its foundation.

Despite her expulsion from the party, Barbera refused to give up her seat in the Senate, which allowed her a relative level of immunity from the legal system, as Spanish Senators can only be persecuted by the Supreme Court, while all of the other suspects in the Operation Taula investigations are having their cases heard in Valencia.

Rajoy, who earlier had refused to answer questions over Barbera's supposed involvement in corruption, led tributes, saying everyone in the party was "enormously affected" by her death.

A minute's silence was held in Congress for her by all parties except for left-wing formation Unidos-Podemos, whose members left the chamber.

"We lament Barbera's death, but cannot take part in a homage to someone whose career is marked by corruption," said Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias. Endit