Andalucía appoints Blanco Venzalá and Vázquez García as co-directors of the mental health plan

The General Directorate of Care, Social and Health Care, Mental Health and Addictions of the Ministry of Presidency, Health and Emergencies has dismissed the heads of the two previous planning plans and has appointed Matilde Blanco Venzalá and Francisco Vázquez García as co-directors of the I Strategic Plan for Mental Health and Addictions of Andalusia (PESMA-A 2026-2029). The decision was adopted by Resolution of October 30, 2026, signed in Seville by the general director, José Ángel Lázaro Mármol, and published in the Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia (BOJA) No. 215, of November 6, 2026, in section 2.1 on Appointments, situations and incidents (official reference 00345791).

A single instrument for two areas

The resolution is based on Law 2/1998, of June 15, on Health of Andalusia, whose article 18 outlines the actions of the health administration regarding mental health, preferably within the community sphere, and on Law 4/1997, of July 9, on Prevention and Assistance Regarding Drugs, which establishes the framework for action on addictions.

Until now, planning was divided into two instruments whose periods of validity have already concluded:

• The III Andalusian Plan on Drugs and Addictions (2016-2021).
• The III Comprehensive Mental Health Plan of Andalusia (2016-2020).

The Governing Council approved the formulation of a joint plan through an Agreement of March 21, 2023, and subsequently approved the final text by Agreement of May 6, 2026, published in BOJA No. 90, of May 13, 2026, effective from 2026 to 2029.

Dismissal of previous officials

The first section of the operative part expressly dismisses those who had been performing the directorial functions of the preceding plans. The resolution nullifies the appointments provided in:

• Francisco Vázquez García, as director of the Andalusian Plan on Drugs and Addictions, appointed by Resolution of December 29, 2020, of the General Directorate of Social and Health Care.
• Benedicto Crespo Facorro and Matilde Blanco Venzalá, as coordinators of the Comprehensive Mental Health Plan of Andalusia, appointed by Resolution of January 12, 2026.

The document justifies the change by stating that the approval of a single planning instrument for both areas makes it necessary to adapt previous appointments and establish a co-direction to promote and coordinate the development, monitoring, and evaluation of the plan.

Co-direction without specific remuneration

The appointment of Blanco Venzalá and Vázquez García as co-directors is accompanied by two economic and administrative clarifications. According to the third section, the appointments do not entail specific remuneration: both maintain the salaries of their original positions and the legal link with their respective institutions of origin.

The fourth section adds that compensation for travel carried out for service reasons will be settled by the institutions of origin, in accordance with current regulations.

The competence of the General Directorate regarding mental health and addictions stems from Decree 189/2026, of July 30, which establishes the organic structure of the Ministry of Presidency, Health, and Emergencies and refers, in its article 21, to the powers of article 30 of Law 9/2007, of October 22, of the Administration of the Junta de Andalucía.

Impact

The co-direction of the PESMA-A 2026-2029 concentrates the responsibility for the entire regional mental health and addictions policy over the next four years in two people, with the immediate task of deploying a plan that replaces two expired instruments and is created without its own remunerative allocation for its leaders.

Source: Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía, no. 215, of November 6, 2026, section 2.1 Appointments, situations and incidents, pages 14561/1-14561/2 (official reference: 00345791).