The appointment was approved with votes against from representatives of the Generalitat Valenciana and the València City Council, who had previously put forward Julio Gómez-Perreta for the position. This decision follows weeks of negotiations without consensus on who would succeed the recently retired Salvador Martínez Císcar.
Sources from the Ministry of Transport have defended Palomo's profile, describing him as "technical, solvent, experienced, and with broad consensus in the sector." Palomo is a civil engineer, served as head of the technical unit for the Mediterranean Corridor Office for eight years, and has experience in the private sector and as an associate professor at the Universitat Politècnica de València.
The València City Council has criticized the move, stating it is the first time such an appointment has occurred without prior agreement among the parties. This decision, viewed as an imposition, has led the representatives from the Generalitat and the council to once again oppose the appointment of Pilar Bernabé, the Government Delegate, as a new board member.
The Ministry deems the veto against Bernabé, proposed by Adif, "completely unusual," calling it a "political veto" unprecedented in the society's history. Municipal sources claim that the society's statutes, approved in December 2021, stipulated a reinforced 75% majority for the appointment of the general director. However, the Mercantile Registrar did not register this article due to a lack of detail in the director's role, a fact that, according to the City Council, was allegedly concealed from current representatives.
