Several thousand demonstrators, the majority of them women, gathered at midday in Seville today to protest the way local authorities have handled the issue of the late release of breast cancer test results, a dispute that has turned into a political crisis.

Authorities in Andalusia, a region led by the Popular Party (PP), admitted that in recent years at least 2,300 women were not informed in time of the results of mammograms they underwent in public hospitals, mainly in Seville. In most of these cases, the women were never told that their tests were “inconclusive” or that a “suspicious lesion” had been detected and would therefore need to be tested again soon.

The central, socialist government of Madrid and the local, right-wing authorities, which are responsible for health services, have been at odds over this issue in recent weeks.

Today, protesters responded to the call of Amama, an association representing patients, and gathered outside the local government headquarters to express their anger.

“We don’t forget, we don’t forgive, Boniha resign” shouted the crowd, whose target has been mainly Juan Manuel Moreno Boniha, the right-wing president of the region. Because of this crisis, the president’s health advisor, Rothio Hernandez, has already resigned.

The crowd, including many visibly emotional women, chanted slogans such as “Our lives cannot wait” and “You are not alone”.

Many patients have already announced that they intend to take legal action against the local authorities.

Under heavy criticism, Bonilla, whose term ends next year, has apologized to the women, but local authorities have so far offered no explanation as to why the scheme failed.

At the national level, Spain’s Ministry of Health has announced that it will study “in depth” breast cancer screening programs, “starting of course” with that of Andalusia.