The massive demonstration for health in Madrid revolts against Ayuso

Hundreds of thousands of people, summoned by the Federation of Associations in Defense of Public Health (Fadsp), which includes 74 social groups, have demonstrated this Sunday through the streets of Madrid to defend public health and protest against the "dismantling" of primary care that, in his opinion, is being carried out by the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso in the region.

The Government Delegation in Madrid has estimated 250,000 attendees at the march, which is 50,000 more than the massive mobilization of November 13, which the organizers hoped to emulate.

The organizers, who calculated that 670,000 people attended the November march, this time they have raised the participation to one million.

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The demonstration for public health in Madrid, in pictures

Armed with whistles, white gloves and accompanied by the noise of the batukadas, the attendees chanted slogans such as "Public Health", "Like this, like this, not one step back, we are going to win this fight", "The united people will never be defeated”, “Then you will say that we are five or six”, “Ayuso, coward, the people are on fire”, “Ayuso and his Government go to hell” and “You have to remember when voting”.

The attendees have vociferously called for the resignation of Ayuso and the sector's counselor, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, for leaving "more than a million people from Madrid without a designated doctor and pediatrician."

Many of the posters read: "For your health, think before you vote";

"You call precariousness freedom";

or “Enough of sanitary terrorism”.

With the slogan "Madrid rises up and demands public health and solutions to the Primary Care Plan"

The march began simultaneously at 12:00 in four columns that will come together in Plaza de Cibeles, one from Nuevos Ministerios (north), another from Plaza de España (west), another from La Princesa hospital (east) and the fourth from Legazpi square (south).

The four columns have come together in Cibeles, next to the headquarters of the Madrid City Council, where a manifesto has been read in which the conveners have censured "the inaction and the abandonment of functions" of the Government of Ayuso in the protection of the public health system and they have demanded more investment.

In the manifesto, the conveners have indicated that "the health policy of the Community of Madrid is aimed at guaranteeing the benefits of companies and

healthcare, instead of being focused on caring for all people and guaranteeing our right to health”.

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The spokesperson for Más Madrid in the Assembly and candidate for the regional Presidency, Mónica García, has claimed to protect the health of citizens against "incompetence", "botch jobs" and even "bad faith" on the part of the regional government.

García was accompanied by the deputy and spokesman for the Más Madrid campaign in the City Council, Eduardo Fernández Rubiño, and the leader of Más País, Íñigo Errejón, who pointed out that those who have taken to the streets in Madrid represent "a moral majority , whatever is voted for”.

Among the protesters was the general secretary of the PSOE of Madrid and candidate for the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, Juan Lobato, who has called on the "calibre majority" of Madrid society to regenerate Madrid in the upcoming elections on 28 May and has summoned the regional president, and the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, to "listen" to the social majority that protects Madrid's public health.

I have found a lot of people who came down from the balcony and are clapping in the street pic.twitter.com/w7Svadp5g2

— Jacobo Garcia (@Jacobogg) February 12, 2023

Lobato attended accompanied by the Socialist candidate for Mayor of Madrid and Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.

“Ayuso and Almeida have to see that there is a majority that has come out to protect public health.

The mayor is wrong in not listening to the social majority.

This city needs better public services to deal with emergencies”, Maroto has outlined.

The spokesperson for Unidas Podemos in the Assembly and candidate for the Community of Madrid, Alejandra Jacinto, the health spokesperson for this formation in the Madrid Assembly, Vanesa Lillo, and the candidate for Madrid Mayor, Roberto Sotomayor, have joined to the demonstration, from which they have denounced the "health terrorism" carried out by the Ayuso government and have called for the unity of the Democrats to put an end to the "atrocity" of dismantling Madrid's public health.

José Luis Yuguero, coordinator of the mobilization, explained that the protest is due to "closeness" and the "determination" of the Government of the Community of Madrid to "dismantle" primary care.

Yuguero has called on all social movements to join the march to defend "the right to public, universal and quality healthcare", while he has stressed that the demonstration "is not political", but rather "part of the citizenship".

In addition, the protest is a show of support for the strike of family doctors and pediatricians from health centers in the region, promoted by the Amyts union since December 21.

These stoppages demand a minimum of 10 minutes per patient, as well as a limitation of the schedules and an improvement in the working conditions of the professionals to avoid their flight to other regions or countries.

However, Ayuso has said that the demonstration is organized under the pretext of "public health".

"What we are suffering in Madrid for a few months," he charged, "political strike."

Counselor Escudero has opined that "you only have to analyze the reason for the call, who is calling and one draws the very clear conclusions that it is a purely political demonstration, as was the one that took place a few months ago."

The left lane of the Paseo de la Castellana is completely occupied by the people of Madrid supporting the fight of the toilets 12 weeks after the first major mobilization, on November 21.

@el_pais_madrid @el_pais pic.twitter.com/gWa4Rsf41f

— Merche 🙃 (@mercedespedreno) February 12, 2023

Also since the march, the UGT and CC OO leaders, Pepe Álvarez and Unai Sordo, have called for more resources to guarantee "quality public health" in Madrid, a situation that they extend to other territories.

Sordo has highlighted that public health is "the fundamental pillar of the welfare system that has been wearing out for a long time that has worsened with the pandemic", a situation that "can go further" with progressive ageing.

Álvarez has considered “logical and reasonable that this conflict breaks out in Madrid.

It is a shame that with so many rich people in Madrid there is no access to quality public healthcare”.

"Ayuso must listen to the protesters", he concluded.

The march has also received the support of different citizen organizations, as well as representatives of the world of culture, such as Rozalén, Carlos Bardem, Juan Diego Botto, Antonio de la Torre, Anabel Alonso, Hugo Silva, Juan Echanove and Alberto San Juan, among others.

The demonstration has been communicated to the Government Delegation by the Popular Solidarity Network of Latina and Carabanchel and various social and neighborhood groups, according to sources from the institution.

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