Spain: monster demonstration in Madrid to defend the public health system

“Health is not sold, it is defended.” Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Madrid (Spain), Sunday, February 12, during a new demonstration in defense of the public health system, undermined for months by a lack of manpower and means. The demonstrators, including many caregivers, met to the sound of drums and whistles in different points of the capital before converging on the town hall. They were 250,000 according to the prefecture, and nearly a million according to the organizers, to claim “more resources” to the regional government of Madrid. Its president, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, is also accused of favoring private service providers to the detriment of public service.

This demonstration, convened by collectives of inhabitants, is the third of great magnitude organized for three months in the Spanish capital. A demonstration took place on January 15, after that of November 13 which brought together 200,000 people, according to the prefecture. Some of the doctors in public establishments in Madrid have been on strike since November 21, at the call of the main Madrid doctors’ union, to demand better working conditions and salary increases.

The discontent vis-à-vis the failures of the health system has affected in recent months other regions in Spain, where the regional authorities have control over public health. However, it is in Madrid that the movement is strongest. The Madrid community is in fact in the penultimate position of the 18 Spanish regions in terms of investment in public health. A situation considered paradoxical, Madrid being the richest region of Spain.