The Andalusian parliamentarian of Por Andalucía Rafael Sánchez Rufo has advanced the registration of a series of initiatives in the Parliament of Andalucía to demand from the Executive of Juanma Moreno that it "specifies" the schedule for the opening of the different services of the High Resolution Hospital Center (Chare) of the Western Coast of Huelva, located in Lepe, as well as the staffing and the medical specialties that this center will provide.
Sánchez Rufo has pointed out that, after a decade with the hospital completed but without healthcare activity, "the citizens of Huelva have reasons not to trust a bit what the leaders of the PP and the Andalusian Government say," according to a note he has collected.
The representative of Por Andalucía has specified that these initiatives are being proposed coinciding with a new call for Marea Blanca in Lepe, scheduled for October 29 at 7:00 p.m., with the aim of demanding the activation of facilities that have been waiting for their opening for ten years.
In this line, he recalled that the PP "has announced on numerous occasions dates for the entry into service of both the Chare of Lepe and that of Aracena, without those commitments being materialized."
"It is a classic in this province to hear the provincial president of the PP, Manuel Andrés González, promising the opening of the hospitals of Lepe and Aracena and establishing different dates that are later not fulfilled," Sánchez Rufo pointed out, who also brought up the announcements of the Junta regarding the Maternal and Child Hospital of Huelva.
The Andalusian deputy has emphasized that, in the case of the Chare of Lepe, "practically all the obstacles" that the Andalusian Government itself had pointed out "as impediments" for its opening have already been resolved. "The accesses, the water supply, and the sanitation are already in place. Electricity remains, which corresponds to the Junta de Andalucía itself and the City Council. Therefore, the excuses for continuing to delay the operation of this hospital have run out," he stated.
He recalled that, in response to a parliamentary initiative processed just two months ago, the autonomous Executive committed in writing that the center would be operational, "at least partially," before the end of 2026. However, he reproached that the Junta "has not clarified what exactly that partial opening means nor what services will be available to the citizens."
For this reason, the new proposals registered by Por Andalucía demand that the Andalusian Government set a "specific" date to launch the emergency service and specify when the outpatient consultations, laboratories, and diagnostic tests will begin to operate, detailing the specialties and healthcare services that the hospital will offer.
In the same way, Sánchez Rufo requests that the planned schedule for the opening of the operating rooms and the hospitalization area be made public, as well as the staff of healthcare and non-healthcare professionals that the Junta plans to incorporate into the Chare of the Western Coast.
"Guarantees" of own staff in the Chare of Lepe
On this last point, the parliamentarian has placed special emphasis on the need to "guarantee" that the opening of the Chare "does not occur at the expense of reducing the human resources of other hospital centers in the province." "We want to know what guarantees we have that the professionals assigned to the hospital of the Western Coast will not be withdrawn from other hospitals. We cannot allow one saint to be stripped to dress another," he warned.
Sánchez Rufo has reiterated that the operation of the Chare must imply a "real" expansion of public healthcare resources in Huelva and "not a simple redistribution of existing staff." "What we demand from the PP is specificity in their commitments. After ten years with a finished and closed hospital, the citizens have the right to know when they will be able to use it and with what services and professionals they will count," he concluded.
Measures to protect traditional olive groves
On another note, Rafael Sánchez Rufo has detailed the initiatives that Por Andalucía is promoting to address the drop in olive oil prices, a situation that, as he has warned, "is putting the profitability of numerous traditional olive grove operations at risk."
The parliamentarian has indicated that this drop in prices is linked "fundamentally to the good production forecasts of the current harvest and to the entry of oil from Tunisia within the framework of existing trade agreements."
In this scenario, Sánchez Rufo has shown the support of his parliamentary group for the sector's demand that the competent Ministry activate self-regulation mechanisms that allow temporarily storing part of the production and bringing it to market later, avoiding an excess of supply triggering a collapse of prices.
"We are in continuous dialogue with the sector and we advocate for mechanisms to be enabled that allow temporarily withdrawing part of the production from the market to guarantee the profitability of the farms," he explained.
The representative of Por Andalucía has emphasized that this tool "could also help stabilize prices in the opposite direction, avoiding disproportionate increases like those recorded in previous campaigns." In this sense, he has defended a system that provides "greater stability" to the market and safeguards both producers and consumers.
Criticism of Pilar Miranda's role in Congress
Finally, the parliamentarian from Por Andalucía referred to the inclusion of the mayor of Huelva, Pilar Miranda, in the lists of the Popular Party for the Congress of Deputies for the upcoming general elections on November 29.
Sánchez Rufo has questioned the ability of the popular leader "to defend the interests of the province" in the face of a possible central government of her own party and has assured that "her actions will depend on who governs in Spain."
"We have a mayor of Huelva, now a candidate for Congress, who will only be a deputy if the progressive government is maintained. If the next government of Spain is from the Popular Party, she will be an absent deputy. She will not talk about the problems of Huelva in Madrid for a single minute," he stated.
The parliamentarian has justified this assessment by referring to what he considers "a contradiction" in the attitude of the Popular Party regarding the province's demands. "We all know the PP in Huelva, which boasts about this province when it is not governing in Madrid or Andalusia, but when it governs, it forgets about it. And to show this, a button: the Chare of Lepe," he pointed out.
In the face of this scenario, Sánchez Rufo has expressed his support for the candidacies of Frente Amplio, in which Izquierda Unida participates, and has conveyed his backing to Rebeca Martín, candidate for the Congress of Deputies, and to Mónica Rossi, candidate for the Senate in the progressive lists agreed upon with the PSOE.
"I am convinced that Rebeca is going to be a magnificent deputy of Frente Amplio and that Mónica, in those progressive lists for the Senate, is going to be elected and is also going to be a magnificent senator," Sánchez Rufo has stated, who concluded by reiterating his "commitment" to the "defense" of public services and the productive sectors of the province of Huelva.