The Mayor of Montevideo, Caroline Cossehe responded to the Minister of Defense, Javier García, and told him that “Go to work”after he had accused her of committing “political terrorism” because “read partially and omitted to read all the relativizations” of the report made at his request by the Faculty of Medicine on the possible risks of trihalomethanes detected in OSE water, in pregnant women.
In addition, she also referred to the criticism she received for being emotional when reading a few lines of the report. “I know that I have been criticized because I almost cried. We analyzed the report several times when we received it and at the conference was the first moment where I had to read that paragraph out loud, when I went to read it I felt the weight, bitterness and responsibility of what I was reading“, he said according to Telemundo.
This Friday, Cosse cited the information to explain the decision to extend from the same Friday the delivery of water in the municipal polyclinics to “all pregnant women” who are treated there “whether or not they have blood pressure”as explained at a press conference.
The answer to Javier Garcia
This Saturday, the Defense Minister said: “It really seems to me that doing politics seeking terror and fear It is absolutely reprehensible from an ethical point of view.
“What the mayor did it is political terrorism. Make fear, instill fear so that mothers, pregnant women have fear, but the terrorism was such that it caused them to have to leave the Faculty of Medicine yesterday afternoon to clarify. Not everything is worth politics “he declared at a press conference according to Underlined.
“I say it with absolute respect,” he continued, “what Mayor Cosse did is ethically reprehensible. There are limits, in any sphere of life and in political life as well. Everything is not worth getting a vote. It is not worth doing political terror. It is not worth lying, it is not worth reading partial reports. You have to be very careful because the tranquility and peace and health of the people are at stake,” Garcia maintained.
Cosse responded hours later.
“I am a person who leans on science, on data and who takes action, let the minister go to work”he told Telemundo this Saturday after participating in a talk about the water crisis that the country is experiencing.
On the other hand, She also referred to those who criticized her –such as the Colorado deputies from the Ciudadanos sector, María Eugenia Roselló and Felipe Schipanipor– having read with a broken voice a few lines of the report.
“I know that I have been criticized because I almost cried. We reviewed the report several times when we received it and at the conference was the first moment where I had to read that paragraph out loud. When I went to read it I felt the weight, the bitterness and the responsibility of what I was reading.“Cose said.
“If I offended someone with that, I apologize, I’m human. I have to say that it hit me hard when I was reading it,” she added.
“The important thing is that we do not stay there and that we take action. Pregnant women who cannot afford a can of water and are treated at the municipal polyclinic will have that possibility,” said the mayor.
Regarding the report from the Faculty of Medicine, he maintained that “particularly there is a paragraph that does not doubt and poses risks for early pregnancies”. “Consuming water with these characteristics for two to three months would seem to be a risk,” she added.
“Unfortunately, we have to choose which population to protect. In health we read the report in depth and there is a principle called precautionaryTherefore, if there is a risk for pregnant women, we decide to take action and decide to give water to all pregnant women who are treated in our polyclinics. That’s the bottom of the issue.” concluded in the same vein as the director of the Health Division of the Municipality of Montevideo, Virginia Cardozo.
This same Friday, hours after the announcement regarding bottled water for all pregnant women, Cosse had said that what he did it was “very simple”.
“We turned to the Faculty of Medicine with a series of questions, because we believe it was the appropriate scientific authority. The faculty set up a committee of experts, answered the questions, which were posted on our networks and on the web page, on the web of the Faculty of Medicine… In that report, which is very good and very serious, there is a part where he talks about the consequences of malformation and problems in fetuses in periods of early pregnancy“, he pointed out in dialogue with MVD News (of TV Ciudad, the municipal channel),
And he added: “It is very clear in that sense and we what we have decided is to prevent”.
