On Monday, the Andalusian Military Council’s Board of Directors approved Dismissal of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of HealthMaría Luisa del Moral, replaced by Nicolás Navarro Díaz, current first vice president of the Granada Provincial Council and vice mayor of the Motril City Council. This replacement, promoted by the Minister of Health and right-hand man of the Andalusian president, Antonio Sanz, is part of a deep restructuring of the department after the breast cancer screening crisis, which has already caused a series of resignations and dismissals at the highest levels of the ministry.
Navarro, a doctor by profession with a long political career within the Popular Party of Granada, takes over the position of deputy minister at a time of maximum tension for the government of Juan Manuel Moreno. The health crisis led to Noticeable political clothing In massive demonstrations in the eight Andalusian provinces, more than 54,000 people took to the streets last Sunday to demand public health care “without cuts or privatization.”
The new Deputy Minister, born in Motril in 1980, holds a medical degree from the University of Granada and specializes in family and community medicine. Until now he held the position Head of Emergency Department at HLA University Hospital InmaculadaIt is a private center affiliated with the HLA Group and integrated into the insurance company Asisa. This business group is one of the main beneficiaries of the health agreements concluded by the Council and of the emergency awards investigated by a court in Seville.
For the past 20 years, Navarro has combined his medical career with political responsibilities in the Public Prosecution Office of Granada, where he holds the position of Deputy Regional Minister of Health. Currently, in addition to his corporate positions, he holds a position “Forced leave” from his position At the Andalusian Health Service (SAS), where he was emergency physician at Ponente Hospital, in El Ejido (Almería).
The Andalusian government defended that its new responsibility in the Council would not correspond to any private activity. The spokeswoman for the executive branch, Carolina Spain, identified Navarro “He will cease his duties in the private sphere.” He asked “not to shade our eyes”, insisting that his leave ensured compliance with the non-conformity regime. “He wore a white coat in public health and he will wear it again. When his political term ends, he will return to his position in the SAS,” the finance minister and official spokesman said after the government council meeting.
However, the leftist opposition strongly criticized his appointment, accusing the executive of promoting “revolving doors” between the Ministry of Health and private healthcare. The parliamentary groups of the PSOE and POR Andalusia recall that the center where Navarro assumed medical administration duties was One of the beneficiaries of the agreement signed by Miguel Angel Guzmanformer Deputy Minister of Health and current defendant in the case investigating alleged irregularities in emergency contracts with private clinics.
The restructuring of the Ministry of Health comes in the midst of a crisis due to failures discovered in the breast cancer early detection program. More than 2,300 women experienced delays in reporting their mammogram results. Some of them are from Up to two yearsWhich prompted the Andalusian Prosecution to open an investigation. Most of the errors are concentrated in the Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Seville, which accounts for 90% of cases.
Since the scandal broke, the Andalusian government has restricted successive dismissals. Firstly The Minister of Health resignedRocio Hernandez replaced Antonio Sanz, President Moreno’s strongman, in the executive branch. They were subsequently removed from their positions Health representative in SevilleManuel Molina – former director of Virgen del Rocio Hospital – in addition Vice Chancellor María Luisa del Moral and several hospital officials and senior SAS officials.
Sanz defended these moves as part of a “new phase with new teams” aimed at achieving this “Restoring confidence in health management”. However, the criticism does not stop. The opposition parties consider that replacing Del Moral with Navarro “deepens the confusion between public and private health care” and requested clarifications about the appointment criteria.
President Juanma Moreno tried to contain the political damage from the crisis, demanding investments in health care and accusing the opposition of “spreading hoaxes” about the alleged privatization of the Andalusian system. During the PP-A’s regional congress held over the weekend, Moreno appealed to the rebels to “defend without complications” the government health department.
The Ministry emphasizes that the health budget has grown steadily and that Andalusia today has “more staff than ever before”, including an overall offer of more than 10,000 new places and 705 specialists specifically dedicated to early cancer detection. Despite this, Mobilizing citizens The deteriorating public perception of the health system has put the Andalusian executive under a state of maximum pressure, with the focus on regional elections scheduled for the spring of 2026.
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