Moreno plays defence as Montero puts healthcare at the heart of Andalucia’s first election debate

It was always going to be a night dominated by the healthcare scandal. Almost from the moment the five candidates for the Junta de Andalucia took their positions at the RTVE studios in Seville’s Isla de la Cartuja on Monday evening, the question of a mishandled breast cancer screening programme hung in the air — worn literally, as well as spoken about, by three of the five participants.

The debate ran for approximately 90 minutes, was broadcast from 9:45 pm, and was presented by Xabier Fortes and Laura Clavero. It was structured into three blocks — the economy, social policy, and autonomous financing, along with pacts and democratic regeneration — and it gave the candidates their clearest opportunity so far to frame the final stretch of what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive regional campaigns in recent Andalucian history. Andalucia votes on 17 May.

The screening scandal takes centre stage

Before a word had been spoken, the healthcare crisis was already visible on stage. Socialist candidate María Jesús Montero arrived wearing a pink bracelet gifted by a patient advocacy group called Amama Huelva. Antonio Maíllo of Por Andalucia had a pink ribbon on his lapel. And José Ignacio García, of Adelante Andalucia, came wearing a white t-shirt printed with the names of the 2,317 women whose breast cancer screenings were mishandled under the regional health service — the names arranged to form the shape of Andalucia across the fabric.

Montero made the scandal her central argument from the outset. She accused Moreno’s government of showing a fundamental lack of sensitivity towards those affected and of treating one of the legislature’s worst crises as little more than an administrative muddle. García pressed Moreno directly on the pace of hiring radiologists in the aftermath of the revelations. The PP president, who has spent months trying to move on from the issue, found himself defending his record on it once again under the studio lights.

Moreno arrived at the debate to project stability and protect his lead. But the breast cancer crisis — which erupted in October 2025 when it emerged that hundreds of women had not received required follow-up calls from the Andalucian Health Service — has refused to leave the campaign alone. For a president who built his reputation on competent, steady governance, it is an uncomfortable inheritance to carry into election season.

Housing, youth and a growing economy — but for whom?

The opening block on housing and the economy produced some of the sharpest exchanges of the night. Moreno pointed to what he described as a fourfold increase in affordable housing built during his time in office, and argued that Andalucia has grown faster than the national average — the result, he said, of tax cuts, administrative reform and political stability.

Montero pushed back firmly. She argued that falling unemployment owed more to the national government’s labour market reforms, the minimum wage increase and pension uprating than to anything done in Seville — and reminded viewers that the PP had voted against all three. She also announced what she presented as her flagship housing pledge: a commitment, if elected, to subsidise 20% of a first mortgage deposit for young Andalucians. Housing, she said, is a right, not a business.

Moreno’s response was to point out that a similar scheme already exists under his government. He also took a swipe at Montero for arriving late to the debate — a small but pointed moment that drew attention.

Antonio Maíllo was among the most combative voices on housing. He cited Málaga — where monthly rents have, in his account, reached around 1,300 euros — as the clearest symbol of a housing market the PP has simply refused to regulate. He attacked Moreno over his party’s vote in the national parliament against extending rental protections, and aimed the spread of tourist apartments in Andalucian cities.

The closing sixty seconds

Each candidate was given a final minute to speak directly to voters, and the choices were revealing. Montero called on Andalucians to make 17 May a wave of change, warning against what she described as an increasingly radicalised right. Maíllo invoked the memory of Julio Anguita — the communist mayor of Córdoba and former national party leader — and called for a left that protects rather than retreats. García made the straightforward case that Andalucia deserves proper public services, defended in practice and not just in speeches. Gavira presented Vox as a necessary and decisive force in any future right-of-centre government.

Moreno closed with a defence of stability and an implicit warning about the uncertainty of a left-wing coalition — though with his majority now under genuine pressure in the polls, the tone felt more defensive than commanding.

The numbers behind the night

The debate took place against a tightening political backdrop. A new barometer from the Centro de Estudios Andaluces, published on Tuesday, confirms that Moreno remains the clear frontrunner — but the margins have narrowed considerably. The PP is now projected at between 53 and 56 seats; the absolute majority threshold sits at 55. The gap has become uncomfortably thin.

For the PSOE-A, the picture is bleaker. Montero is approaching what could be the party’s worst result in the history of autonomous Andalucia, with some projections placing her below 20% of the vote. Vox, meanwhile, is gaining ground. The smaller left-wing parties are improving on their 2022 performances, though not enough to reshape the overall balance of power.

What Monday night made clear is that none of the campaign’s central questions have been resolved. Moreno is the favourite, but he carries a healthcare scandal that will not rest. Montero has a clear message and genuine fight in her, but the numbers are working against her. And whether Moreno can hold an absolute majority on his own — or whether Andalucia is heading for a coalition dependent on Vox — remains, with twelve days to go, genuinely open.

A second debate is scheduled before polling day. InSpain.News will continue to follow the campaign in full.