The PSOE-A general secretary, María Jesús Montero, has highlighted the “lesson of dignity, exemplary conduct and transparency” that, in her view, Óscar Puente has offered by submitting his resignation this week as minister of Transport after the Urda rail accident, in which 69 people died. In this line, she has contrasted this gesture for “dignity toward the victims” with the actions of the Junta of Andalusia, reproaching that the minister for the Presidency, Interior and Social Dialogue, Antonio Sanz, did not leave his post after the fire in Los Gallardos (Almería), where 15 people lost their lives. At the same time, she has stressed that Spain has “safe” infrastructure that allows people to travel “with complete peace of mind”.
Montero made these statements at a meeting with the party’s members held this Saturday at the Balneario de los Baños del Carmen (Málaga), where she criticized the PP leaders for trying to “give lessons” when, in the face of tragedies that occurred under their management, “they do not have the dignity to offer that relief to the victims”. The Socialist official accused the Partido Popular of trying to install in public opinion the idea that “all politicians are the same,” an assertion that, in her view, is refuted by events.
In this context, the leader of the PSOE in Andalusia has described as “deplorable and petty” that the regional president, Juanma Moreno, should try “to scrape together a handful of votes using other people’s pain” when accidents occur in State infrastructure. After emphasizing that the PSOE “knows well what this is because it has been a victim of ETA for a long time,” she lamented that the opposition is once again “instrumentalizing suffering,” as she considers has happened following the tragedies in Urda and Adamuz.
“They are the ones who say one thing and the opposite and spread insecurity, when what corresponds is to convey the certainty that we live in a country with safe infrastructure that allows people to move around with complete peace of mind,” the Socialist leader insisted, criticizing what she considers to be “different treatment” that, in her view, is given to victims depending on whether responsibility lies with the central Government or with the regional Administration.
In this context, Montero has reproached the Andalusian Executive that the draft Budgets of the Junta de Andalucía for 2027 continues without including the budget item for patrimonial liability, intended for those affected by the delay in the breast cancer screening programs. "They still do not recognize these women and we continue without knowing how many of them developed cancer because the additional tests were not carried out in time," he warned, demanding a concrete response for these patients.