Adelante Andalucía has urged this Wednesday the Minister of Education, María del Carmen Castillo, to "give way" to the bill on school cafeterias registered by this formation, which proposes "homemade" and local food, in light of the "structural problem" that, in their opinion, currently affects this service in the autonomous community.
This was stated by the deputy spokesperson of Adelante Andalucía, Inma Manzano, at a press conference in the Andalusian Parliament, where she focused on various incidents known in recent days related to the menus served in schools in the community.
Specifically, the deputy referred to the "well-known ratatouille without ratatouille" detected in an educational center in Córdoba, as well as the appearance of "worm larvae" in a plate of rice served in a school in Albolote (Granada).
"If the minister thinks that this is safe and quality food, we invite her to eat it herself, and to give way to the school cafeteria law of Adelante Andalucía, which promotes homemade, local, and public food for our children," Inma Manzano stated, emphasizing that "the current situation of the" Andalusian school cafeterias is "already a structural problem, not a punctual one, more than demonstrated."
Manzano has announced that Adelante will re-register its school cafeteria bill to prevent episodes like those that occurred in Córdoba or Albolote "from happening again." She detailed that the initiative proposes "the public hiring of cooks who prepare homemade food 'on-site' daily with local products," in addition to "the acquisition of local products from farmers in the area."
In this way, "in addition to reinforcing healthy food for Andalusian children, as a central part of the educational and family reconciliation project," it would also be achieved that "the economic benefits would remain in the territory, instead of going to the six multinationals that currently control the school cafeteria business in Andalusia," as claimed by the representative of Adelante.
Criticism of the privatization of Andalusian healthcare
In the same appearance, the parliamentarian of Adelante Javier Montes referred to the "report on the privatization of public health services in the different autonomous communities published by the Federation of Associations for the Defense of Public Health" released this Tuesday, emphasizing that, "to no one's surprise," it follows from this document that "privatization" in the healthcare of Andalusia has "increased by 70% in the last decade."
The also spokesperson for Health of Adelante reproached that, from 2016 to the current 2026, there is "70% more privatization in Andalusia," and pointed out that this process "started with the governments of the Socialist Party" in the community, but has accelerated "exponentially since the PP-A began to govern," which "has made privatization its political brand par excellence," he added.
Javier Montes detailed that the report known this Tuesday indicates that "in 2024 there were a series of changes through which items intended for private companies were camouflaged in the Budgets," and added that "the last great invention of the PP in this escalation of privatization" is reflected "with the awards they are making now for the tenders that came out at the beginning of the year."
In this context, he warned of the "plan" of the PP-A "to reduce waiting lists for diagnostic tests" by sending "Andalusians to private centers in other provinces or other autonomous communities."
"It is what we are seeing in the provinces of Almería and Granada," where users of the Andalusian public health system "are going to be referred to get diagnostic tests in Murcia," allocating for this from the Junta "several million euros" to "private companies that are going to carry out those diagnostic tests," the deputy continued criticizing.
Montes rejected this model and wondered if "there are no valid professionals in Andalusia to get diagnostic tests" without leaving the community, while questioning "how is it possible that we have to send Andalusians to other autonomous communities to get tests if the Andalusian healthcare is so good."
The parliamentarian specified that, "in total, it is almost 600 million euros" that are distributed "among eight Andalusian provinces" "to carry out diagnostic tests in private companies, forcing, moreover, patients to travel outside their province."
"The PP is not concerned that elderly, sick people have to travel hundreds of kilometers to get an MRI and an ultrasound," denounced the representative of Adelante, who insisted that his group demands from the Junta "more resources, more equipment, and more professionals" in Andalusian healthcare, so that diagnostic tests are carried out "within" the autonomous territory.
After also demanding from the first vice president and counselor of Presidency, Health, and Emergencies of the Junta, Antonio Sanz, that he "focus on quality public healthcare instead of making a profit from our health," Javier Montes has announced that his parliamentary group is going to "ask about these displacements, about these privatizations for almost 600 million euros, and what is going to happen with the people who cannot travel on their own, because this is an absolute disgrace."