President Andrés Manuel López Obrador condemned the lack of definition shown by the U.S. and Canada regarding the police attack on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador. He asked the two countries for a clear statement on the issue. Canada described the violation of international law as alleged, while the U.S. issued a statement on the incident, but did not condemn the police intrusion into the embassy.
An El Heraldo poll shows that the Mexican president’s approval rating is 71% on a national level. The president thanked those who have not been fooled by the dirty war against him.
President López Obrador, together with the 23 governors of the states where the IMSS Bienestar health-care program is being implemented, announced that before the end of September, Mexico will have the best public health system in the world. In addition, the federalization of medical services contributes to cleansing the health-care sector of corruption. «It is the sum of commitments for a very just and noble project, namely, the right to health-care,» he said.
The IMSS Bienestar program provides free medical care and medicines to 53,244,970 people without social security in the 23 states that have federalized their health services. It also includes 11,913 health-care centers. The program has also formalized the employment status of 26,004 health-sector workers and it is expected that before the end of the current administration’s term in office, the number will increase to 60,578. The program has also invested over 3.68 billion pesos (US$225.14 million) in refurbishing 214 hospitals. In addition, 31 new hospitals have been put into operation and 33 are under construction (10 of them will start operating between April and May, 4 in June, 5 in July, 1 in August and 13 in September).
The head of Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Zoé Robledo announced monthly bonuses of 10,979 pesos (US$670.96) for 4,010 specialized doctors who fill a vacancy in rural areas of Guerrero, Puebla, Veracruz, and Chiapas. A call will also be issued for the hiring of 5,850 general practitioners to work in clinics in poverty-stricken areas.
The new program La Clínica es Nuestra (The Clinic is Ours) will have a budget of 6 billion pesos (US$360 million) to improve and refurbish health-care centers; it will be a model that will provide direct support to local committees, which will define how to invest the resources.
