Mexico has announced that it will accept 2,700 Cuban doctors to help alleviate a shortage of specialists in the country. This decision comes despite criticism from opponents who claim that it will support Cuba’s communist government at the expense of local medical professionals. Mexico has already received hundreds of Cuban doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are employed by the public health service.
According to the head of Mexico’s Social Security Institute, Zoe Robledo, the new agreement will add 2,700 specialists to the country, mainly in internal medicine, pediatrics, and emergency medicine. This decision has been defended by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who argues that Cuba is a victim of an unjust US economic blockade.
However, political opponents and representatives of Mexico’s medical field have expressed concerns about the agreement. Julen Rementaria, senate leader for Mexico’s opposition PAN party, claims that there are 51,000 unemployed doctors in Mexico who could do the work being given to Cuban doctors.
Cuba’s government has said that its deployment of doctors around the world is a primary source of foreign income, while the US State Department has raised concerns about Cuba’s recruitment and retention practices surrounding this program. NGO Prisoner Defenders have also alleged that Cuban doctors traveling to Mexico are subject to “slave-like” conditions and receive minimal compensation.
Mexico has also begun sending oil to Cuba from state-owned, the exports were valued at $400 million in the second half of the year. Mexico’s decision to accept 2,700 Cuban doctors is a significant move that could have implications for the country’s medical workforce and its relationship with Cuba.
Source: Reuters
