- Currently, it is estimated that there are at least 80,000 health workers in Mexico who do not have permanent work contracts.
- In 2020, The Lancet magazine stated that Médico was the country in the world with the most health workers killed by Covid-19.
- A demonstration led by doctors to demand better working conditions ended in a repression by CDMX police officers.
The health sector is essential for Mexico and is also one of the most closely watched. The problem is that many times the members of this field do not receive the minimum guarantees to carry out their work. In fact, it is one of the reasons why doctors carried out a public demonstration that was repressed by the police.
How did the annoyance of the doctors arise?
This discontent is not new because during the last months there have been constant mobilizations throughout the entire national territory. While the complaints of the doctors are diverse, although they focus on the null support they receive from the government.
In this sense, it is accused that due to the lack of supplies in hospitals there were so many workers who died during the pandemic. In fact, in 2020 the specialized magazine The Lancet published an article in which he stated that Mexico was the country with the most doctors killed by Covid-19 in the world.
It was constantly denounced that the hospitals did not have Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Therefore, the doctors had to pay with their salaries for this benefit that the institutions should have provided them.
For its part, after the end of the health emergency was declared, another problem occurred. Many of the hospitals that hired doctors on a temporary basis did not want to extend the working relationship. Therefore, in a matter of months the doctors went from being heroes to being unemployed.
Police repress demonstration of doctors
However, the disagreement of the doctors is not only limited to what happened during the pandemic, but the discomfort comes from before. According to the Ministry of Health (SSa) in 2019 there were at least 80 thousand health field workers who were not based.
🚨 #NOW Protest of Doctors from the Health Sector in Mexico City: Clashes with the Police in the Zocalo of CDMX when Demanding Attention to Demands and Dialogue with the Government pic.twitter.com/dH2WcD8dpX
— Enrique Muñoz (@enriquemunozFM) August 8, 2023
In some cases there are elements that have been working with irregular work contracts for more than a decade. Therefore they lack benefits and seniority. To date it is one of the biggest discomforts among doctors.
“Basification is the solution”
With this in mind, on the morning of August 8, there was a peaceful demonstration around the National Palace. Both doctors and workers from other health areas demanded to enter to speak directly with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The motto used this day was: “Basification is the solution”.
Shouting “basification is the solution” medical personnel from hospitals in the #CDMX They demonstrate on the outskirts of the National Palace, to demand the basification of their squares and respect for their years of seniority. pic.twitter.com/BM1iHY8ioa
– OAXACA INFORMATIVE (@OaxacaInforma10) August 8, 2023
Despite their insistence, they were denied entry and even a group of police officers repressed the doctors’ demonstration. According to what was published by the newspaper The reasonan anti-riot group encapsulated the doctors, which led to shoving and complaints from health personnel as they tried to break through.
DOCTORS PROTEST IN NATIONAL PALACE 🧑⚕🔴
📍This morning, health personnel, mainly from the #CDMX and the state of #Warriorthey demonstrated in front of #National Palace to demand fair contracts, basification and unification of salaries. Some disturbances are registered. pic.twitter.com/meBGAjfUH0
— THE INFORMANT 🇲🇽 (@ElInformanteMX) August 8, 2023
In the end, they were all released, although they did not achieve their goal of speaking to a government representative. While neither has a solution been offered to the deficiencies that prevail in public hospitals and which not only affect patients but also health workers.
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