The Government of Bolivia affirmed “categorically that corresponding medical attention was given” to Alejandro Benítezthe teacher from Salta who died after suffering an accident on the route that connects Cochabamba with Santa Cruz, and ordered an investigation to clarify the complaints.
“The Ministry of Health has sent a commission to be able to make a audit of the case and an on-site investigation. We await the results and if there is a breach of the regulations, they will receive the corresponding sanctions,” reported this Tuesday the Vice Minister of Management of the Bolivian Health System, Alvaro Terrazasat a press conference.
“In a reasonable time, the results will be known to determine the medical-administrative transgression or medical negligence by the competent authorities,” if there was one, he added.
According to the authorities, the teacher from Salta died in a traffic accident last Sunday in the province of Chapare and He was immediately taken to a health center.
The doctors at the hospital tried to stabilize the patient for more than an hour, but due to the seriousness of his injuries did not survive for transfer to a specialist hospital.
“In a reasonable time, the results will be known to determine the medical-administrative transgression or medical negligence by the competent authorities.”Alvaro Terrazas
“He was treated at a second-level hospital in Ivirgarzama, 226 kilometers from Cochabamba (center), where the care was prompt and immediate, he was not charged in advance,” said Terrazas.
“Within the framework of Law 1,152 and the 2019 reciprocity agreement, we are obliged without distinction that Argentines receive the same treatment as Bolivians,” the official remarked.
He also reiterated his rejection of the accusations of “some authorities in jump and some media outlets in Argentina” about medical absence.
We deeply regret what happened and the lack of reciprocity with the Argentines. All our solidarity and accompaniment to his family and loved ones. We are not going to stop until they give us an answer and justice is done.#Indignation #Repudiation
– Gustavo Sáenz (@GustavoSaenzOK) July 11, 2022
“From the Plurinational Government of Bolivia we want to affirm categorically that the corresponding medical attention was given in accordance with the procedures and regulations established by our State”he stated.
vice chancellor freddy mamaniwho was also at the conference, supported the declarations of Terrazas against complaints from the Argentine press and clarified that yes immediate help was providedbased on the health agreements between Argentina and Bolivia.
Meanwhile, tomorrow, the Argentine ambassador to Bolivia, Ariel Basteiro, will meet with authorities from the Bolivian Foreign Ministry to “ask for explanations” about the Benítez case.
The Argentine Foreign Ministry, through its embassy in La Paz, had planned to raise an official protest note to the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday“demanding explanations and expressing his deep concern” for the abandonment, the lack of medical attention and the death of the Argentine teacher.
This occurs after the Government of Salta submitted a request to the Foreign Ministry for the necessary steps to be taken before the Plurinational State of Bolivia so that it reports on the circumstances surrounding the death of the Argentine teacher.
