The Andalusian leader Teresa Rodríguez has revealed that she suffers from cancer and is undergoing treatment after denouncing attacks and comments on social media about her physical appearance after going to vote on election day last Sunday.
Rodríguez herself made this information public through her social networks, where she explained the reason why she wore a scarf on her head to exercise her right to vote. Her message came after receiving comments about her image on social media following her public appearance during election day.
A well-known political figure in Andalusia
Teresa Rodríguez has been one of the most recognizable figures on the Andalusian left in recent years. She was the leader of Podemos Andalucía and later a reference for Adelante Andalucía, a party from which she has maintained a political presence in the Community.
A graduate in Arabic Philology and a secondary school teacher by training, she made the leap to the political forefront in the electoral cycle linked to the rise of Podemos and became one of the main faces of the party in Andalusia. She was a Member of the European Parliament and later led the party in the autonomous community.
Her institutional career led her to the Andalusian Parliament, where she served as parliamentary spokesperson for several legislatures and participated in the construction of different left-wing electoral alliances.
Later, she broke with Podemos and with the party's state leadership, in a process of political distancing that led to her continuation within the Andalusianist project of Adelante Andalucía.
In recent years, she has maintained a political presence in Andalusia from that platform, with a critical position towards both the Andalusian PSOE and the state left.
The revelation of her illness occurred, however, in a context completely unrelated to political debate, following the comments generated on social media after her presence on election day.