Madrid Spain.- Hundreds of thousands of Spanish health workers protested in Madrid against what they see as the destruction of the public health system by the conservative regional government.
The Madrid government has been the target of criticism in recent years, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, due to the shortage of personnel in hospitals and primary care centers. Protesters claim that he is dismantling public health services and favoring private providers.
“They have cut our salary instead of raising it. We are overwhelmed with work and we have no support. We are in danger of extinction,” Lilian Ramis, 61, a midwife at the El Molar health center in Madrid, told Reuters.
The demonstrators filled the Plaza Cibeles, in the center of the city, with chants and waving flags. One of the protesters carried a huge doll of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the right-wing leader of the Madrid regional government, with a nose similar to that of Pinocchio.
In Spain, regional governments are responsible for a large part of the health budget, by virtue of the country’s decentralized political system.
A spokesperson for the regional government put the number of people who demonstrated through the streets of downtown Madrid at 250,000, while the organizers speak of close to one million.
Ayuso denies the accusation that his administration is dismantling public health services in favor of the private sector.
“We all believe in public health,” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Thousands of health workers also demonstrated in Santiago de Compostela, in northwestern Spain, to demand the maintenance of the public health system. According to the Police, 20,000 people took to the streets.
In November, tens of thousands of people marched through Madrid in support of health workers, who were demanding better working conditions.
