Controversy in the Corts Valencianes over the figure of Ernest Lluch
The possibility of the former minister's name being removed from a medical center has sparked a dispute in the Valencian government's control session.
ValenciaThe possible removal of the name of former Catalan Health Minister Ernest Lluch, murdered by ETA, from the new specialist center in the Campanar neighborhood of Valencia was one of the most tense moments of the Valencian government's oversight session this Thursday.
Compromís MP Joan Baldoví accused Mazón of trying to erase Lluch's name from the Campanar health complex and the new health center in the Travalón neighborhood of Elche. The name was promoted by the previous Council of the PSPV, Compromís, and Unidas Podemos to vindicate the memory of a key political leader in the Valencian transition, a driving force behind self-government and professor of economics at the University of Valencia. "How miserable you are," Baldoví went so far as to say, referring to the PP officials. The Valencian politician added that the former Socialist leader was "a little man and a fundamental figure in our past" and that his memory must be preserved.
Unlike the conservatives' silence in recent days following the disappearance of the sign bearing Lluch's name from the health complex—inaugurated this October—Mazón has come out on the attack today. "Who told you that the specialist center will no longer be called Ernest Lluch?" stated the Valencian president, who argued that far from hiding the name of the socialist politician, the best tribute to the former Minister of Health would be to place "the large Campanar hospital of 550,500 square meters on the basis of the specialist center." Before the president of the Consell's remarks today, the Generalitat had stated that it prefers that the names of health centers only refer to the streets, neighborhoods, or municipalities where they are located so that citizens are not confused. However, this Thursday he specified that the final name will be Campanar Health Complex, which will integrate the Campanar II health center and the Campanar-Ernest Lluch specialist center.
The Spanish government has also become involved in the controversy through Health Minister Mónica García, who announced that they will name the National Dosimetry Center after Ernest Lluch. "In memory of continuing his legacy of universal public healthcare," García stated on social media.
