MIAMI.-On the morning of Monday, November 25, a group of 199 Cuban doctorsspecialized in 29 medical disciplines, arrived at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in Mexicoaccording to aztec media. These health professionals will join medical care programs in remote communities in 24 states of the country, according to the Cuban Embassy in Mexico.
The Cuban doctors will work alongside Mexican colleagues as part of an agreement between the governments of Mexico and Cuba. This agreement places Caribbean specialists in the units of the IMSS Bienestar program, which operates in areas with difficult access and a shortage of health personnel. “The solidarity and experience of our doctors willing to save lives. “Cuba saves lives,” highlighted the Cuban diplomatic representation in its statement.
Some of these areas where specialists are inserted are dominated by drug trafficking and with high levels of insecurity.
Although the arrival of Cuban doctors has been promoted as an act of solidarity, these international missions have generated controversy due to the working conditions imposed by the Cuban regime. Human rights organizations have denounced that doctors sent abroad work under a model that they describe as “modern slavery.”
Under this system, doctors receive only a fraction of the salaries paid by recipient countries, while the rest of the money is withheld by the dictatorship. Additionally, professionals are often subject to strict mobility restrictions, constant surveillance, and pressure to prevent abandon the missions.
The export of medical services It is one of Cuba’s main sources of income, even surpassing tourism. This practice is sustained at the expense of the labor and human rights of health professionals, who are not free to negotiate their conditions or the destination of their income.
In the case of Mexico, the hiring of Cuban doctors has generated criticism both for the doctors’ working conditions and for the lack of transparency in agreements with the Cuban government.
The Aztec administration has been promoting the hiring of Cuban doctors for more than four years. The last presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador disbursed $5,188 a month to support each of the island’s doctors. They have also limited the scholarships to study abroad that they grant to Mexican university students, leaving Cuba, despite the conditions on the island. , as the main and even only option.
