Madrileños know that if they see the gigantic “teona” with a long lying nose parodying the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, it is because social discontent overflows the city. They also know that the streets will then be closed and that many people will come out with banners to protest.
This is what happened this Sunday at noon, when thousands of people marched from four points in Madrid to the Plaza de Cibeles to ask for public health. they consider it increasingly precarious and dismantled.
Approximately 250,000 Madrileños, according to estimates by the government delegation -although for the organizers the announcement brought together a million-, took the Paseo del Prado, the Paseo de la Castellana and other corners that give identity to the capital of Spain with a slogan : “Madrid rises up and calls for public health”.
“Preeminence belongs to the neighbors, who are the ones who call,” said Angela Hernández, general secretary of the Association of Doctors and Higher Graduates of Madrid.
Neighbors, 74 social organizations and trade unions organized the march in which some political parties joined, without losing sight of the fact that this 2023 is an election year: there will be municipal, regional and general elections.
“Like another woman from Madrid, I am here to ask for the defense of public health,” said the Minister of Tourism and Industry, Reyes Maroto, who will be the PSOE candidate for mayor of Madrid, today in the hands of José Luis Martínez-Almeida, took advantage of the protest of the Popular Party.
The last major mobilization due to the poor state of health of the health service in the Community of Madrid was in November last year and brought together fewer people than this time: while the government delegation stated that 200,000 people from Madrid had participated , the organizers ensured that there had been 600,000.
ten-week strike
“People are concerned about the future of public health in the Community of Madrid and the lack of dialogue from the Ministry of Health. We are about to enter the tenth week of the indefinite strike of 5,000 family doctors and paediatricians in the Community of Madrid,” added Hernández.
Protesters They asked for more staff to be hired. sanitary.
According to some of those who participated in the march, there are 600,000 Madrileños without an assigned doctor and 200,000 children without a referral pediatrician.
“Public health is not sold, it is defended”, postulated a banner behind which one of the four columns advanced towards Cibeles.
Once we reached the fountain, and in front of the old Post Office building which is now called the Palacio de Cibeles and is the seat of the City Council of Madrid, people were singing and waving white handkerchiefs.
“As long as everything is deprived, we will be deprived of everything,” said a note one lady showed.
“I want my pediatrician”, reads a card held by Inés and Laura, two girls aged 5 and 8 who participated in the march with their father. Each complaint letter was painted a different color.
“Political strike”
From the autonomous government they point out that it is a “political strike”.
Three days before this Sunday’s march, Regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso accused the opposition of “vandalizing” health centers with claim banner.
“What you are doing is hijacking public services and privatizing them for your political interests. It is a political strike,” said Díaz Ayuso.
The president of the region also sparked controversy when she complimented her health policy on the words of the widow of director Carlos Saura, who died at the age of 91 on Friday, a day before the Goya Awards ceremony for which they had reserved a decoration special for his career.
In her place, she was welcomed by two of her children and her latest partner, the actress Eulàlia Ramón, who thanked the health personnel of the Villalba hospital on stage for their care and for having accompanied the director to the end of his days.
“I thank the widow of Carlos Saura for the tribute she paid to healthcare in Madrid,” Díaz Ayuso said on social media on Saturday evening, while half of Spain followed the Goya gala held in Seville on television.
“We all believe in our health, we work for the best,” added the Madrid president.
Almodóvar’s statement
It is not the first time that Spanish public health has slipped into the discourse of other disciplines, such as cinema. At the end of January, the Feroz Awards – which annually celebrate the best of Spanish audiovisual production in cinema and television – awarded the Feroz de Honor to Pedro Almodóvar.
Extremely emotional, the director did not end his speech without first saying: “Our health system is on the verge of collapse.”
“The health problems of the Spaniards affect us all, regardless of whether some of us have the option of turning to private healthcare,” he added.
“The universal and free public healthcare system is one of the pillars of our well-being society. For them,” said Almodóvar, holding up the award.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.