Everything goes in the 'Abc' in electoral campaign

In journalism, if one approaches it with enthusiasm, tenacity, and leaves scruples at home, one eventually finds the deceased. And, above all, the shoulders on which to carry him. This is what Abc did this week with the front-page headline: “Conviction for a fatal error in breast cancer screenings with Montero as Minister of Health”. The case, truly unfortunate, explains how a woman had a mammogram and, due to an apparent error, was diagnosed with two benign tumors that were actually cancerous. From there, and despite having several family history of cancer, she was scheduled for an appointment two years later, by which time the tumor had already metastasized and her life could not be saved. A court ruling states that if she had been scheduled for an appointment within a year, her death could have been avoided. Certainly, the professionals at the hospital in question will have to reflect on this specific case, but it is difficult to see how the responsibility for the misfortune can be elevated to Montero, if not for the determination to crush her campaign for the presidency of Andalusia.

Screening problems have been the protagonists of the electoral contest because, during the PP government, errors affected at least 2,317 women. Contrasting a particular case with structural mismanagement – for which Juanma Moreno has apologized and, therefore, it implies that he admits responsibility – is also manipulation. The affair that Abc explains is not a lie, but the way it is presented and the poor contextualization, when it sprinkles Montero's name here and there, is equivalent to a subtle form of disinformation. With the aggravating factor that it instrumentalizes a painful case such as death due to medical negligence. Furthermore, the news indicates that the protocols are not even specifically Andalusian, but rather they applied the guidelines set at the state level. All in all, a trench warfare stab that is not at all respectful.