Health
Sections
Highlight
Sections
Highlight
Thousands of people took the streets of Malaga city on Sunday to protest against the "deterioration" of the public health system in Andalucía. The Marea Blanca (white wave) organisers called the march where some 10,000 criticised the Junta's management for making "cuts" to the public health system, an increase in waiting lists and "privatisation". Demonstrators demanded more health staff, an improvement to their working conditions, as well as more health infrastructures.
"The Junta is worsening the conditions of our health system. The waiting lists are killing because there are people who do not arrive in time to be cured because of the cuts; public funds are being diverted to the private health sector and there is no job stability for staff," said Mercedes Sanchez, spokesperson for Marea Blanca.
The demonstration started at the intersection of Muelle de Heredia and Alameda de Colón and ended in the Plaza de la Merced. It was attended by users of the health system - some of whom came from all over the province such as Ronda, Antequera, Axarquia, the Guadalhorce valley and the Costa del Sol - workers, social groups, trade unions (CCOO, UGT and Ustea) and political parties (Socialists, IU, Podemos and Adelante Andalucía).
"Defend public health" was the slogan on the banner that led the demonstration. Other chants demanded quality, free and universal public health care and attacked Junta president Juanma Moreno. Slogans read out were 'public health is not for sale, it is defended', 'in public health you are a patient, in private, a client', 'Moreno, listen, health is in struggle' or 'Moreno Bonilla, increase the staff'.
From the political sphere, the left-wing opposition in Andalucía created a banner to attack the government of the Junta, while the secretary general of the Socialists in Malaga, Dani Pérez, called on Moreno to listen to the demonstrators as "health has never been as bad as it is now".
"We took to the streets to defend universal, public and free healthcare in the face of the Partido Popular's privatising zeal," said Pérez, who added that his party denounced allegedly irregular contracts that "were awarded by hand without any legal framework, and were directly aimed at benefiting private healthcare, the cronies of Moreno Bonilla". "This situation is unsustainable," Pérez pointed out.
IU coordinator in Andalucía, Toni Valero, said that Moreno is "worsening" the health of Andalusians and "improving" the accounts of private clinics, while his counterpart in Malaga, Toni Morillas, pointed out that the people of Malaga are protesting in the streets "in self-defence, to defend our right to health, to defend something as basic as that if you or your people get sick you have the possibility of having a public system that gives you peace of mind, that protects you, that gives you security".
"Enough of diverting budgets to private healthcare and devaluing care. For universal, public and quality healthcare," Podemos said on its social media.
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Reporta un error en esta noticia
Necesitas ser suscriptor para poder votar.