- Several Mexican doctors have questioned why doctors from other countries have been hired when there are many unemployed here.
- It is also requested to improve the conditions of health professionals in our country.
- A recent study showed that a doctor in Mexico earns 3 times less than one in Brazil or Spain.
Decisions made by the government usually have an immediate impact. Especially when they have a direct relationship with a guild. Therefore, the recent announcement about the hiring of 500 foreign doctors to work in ours has not been well received. Some claim that it can be interpreted as if the Cuban doctors were better than the Mexicans.
This agreement was the product of the recent tour that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador held through Central America and the Caribbean. During his trip he was in talks with several of his counterparts and signed documents of mutual support.
As a result of the above It was established that a total of 500 doctors from the island will arrive in our country. Its main objective will be to serve patients in rural areas.
The basis of this initiative is that Mexico has a severe shortage of specialists. While not everyone is willing to travel to spaces far from cities to care for patients. He also said that there are hospitals but not doctors and that is why he requested support from abroad.
The opinion of the doctors of our country
Although hardly a day has passed, the health union in our country has immediately manifested itself. Although there are all kinds of opinions, most reject the idea because they point out that Cuban doctors are no better than Mexican ones. In fact It has been questioned whether there really is a personnel deficit.
In this regard, Dr. Héctor Rossete used his social networks to make his point of view known. He simply points out that “Mexico does NOT need more doctors, it needs more well-paid jobs for them.”
Mexico does NOT need more doctors, it needs more well-paying jobs for them.
— Dr. Hector Rossete (@HectorRossete) May 10, 2022
Working conditions of doctors in Mexico
In this sense, one of the most frequent complaints is that the salary of health professionals in Mexico is one of the lowest in Latin America. In 2020, the Belisario Domínguez Institute of the Senate of the Republic carried out a study. What was obtained is that doctors in Mexico earn an average of $16,146 per month.
The figure represents almost a third of the average salary for this profession in countries such as Brazil and Spain. While the nursing staff, meanwhile, earn an average of $9,909 per month. This is less than half of what their colleagues in Chile or Italy earn.
For his part, Dr. Alejandro Macías points out that “in Mexico there are enough doctors and in fact, there are unemployed, including many who fought in the pandemic.”
The federations, associations and medical colleges of Mexico speak out against the hiring of foreign doctors due to the alleged lack of national doctors.
In Mexico there are enough doctors and in fact, there are unemployed, including many who fought in the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/VwSNuhQbIo– Alejandro Macias (@doctormacias) May 10, 2022
As an example, over the last few months, cases have been published of doctors who were hired during the pandemic to treat Covid-19 patients. Although as the situation progressed and hospital occupancy decreased, many health professionals were laid off.
In this way, in a matter of months they went from heroes to unemployed. Therefore, if there really is a shortage of doctors in Mexico, why are there so many unemployed?
The reality is that the hiring of Cuban doctors has not only called into question whether they are better than Mexicans, but whether they are really needed in our country. In addition, it is necessary to know in detail the amount of money that will be used to pay for their services.