MIAMI, United States. — The Mexican government reported this Tuesday that 552 Cuban doctors are working in that country, by virtue of the agreements signed with the Havana regime.
The information was disclosed by the director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Zoé Robledo, in the usual morning conference offered by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) from the National Palace.
Robledo indicated that the 552 doctors work in 12 health facilities in the country. Of these, 68 new specialists have already transferred to the units where they will serve.
According to the official, Cuban specialists in Geriatrics, Dermatology, Allergology, Rehabilitation and Internal Medicine, among others, will contribute to the medical care of the population.
Robledo reported the presence of Cuban doctors in hospitals in states such as Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Zacatecas and Morelos.
Until October of last year, there were 436 doctors from the Caribbean island in Mexican territory. The hiring of health professionals responds to a commitment by AMLO to universalize health services in the country.
Months earlier, in September, AMLO himself had referred to his “Health Plan for Well-being” for the creation of a free healthcare system that, according to the president, would be active by mid-2023.
The “exchange” in health matters between Mexico and the Cuban regime dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the president of the Aztec country requested help from Havana to face the health crisis.
The hiring of Cuban doctors has previously been criticized in countries such as Brazil and Venezuela, due to the working conditions in which the doctors work and the violations of rights to which they are subjected.
Since the sending of Cuban doctors to Mexico was announced, the agreement has generated great controversy. Opponents of the AMLO government have questioned it for financing the Havana dictatorship by receiving these health professionals.