Exonerates CFE in Flood Case / Boost for Medical Residencies

Exonerates CFE in flooding case. President López Obrador exonerated CFE of the recent Tabasco floods, and said houses affected in the southern state were the result of corruption during their construction and planning some year ago. Yesterday, Tabasco Gov. Adán Augusto López accused CFE head Manuel Bartlett of flooding three Tabasco municipalities, for which he would file charges. López Obrador admitted a miscalculation in water discharged from a CFE dam but defended the approach by the state company experts. “On the first occasion there may have been a miscalculation. I understand the governor of Tabasco, he is the one who has water at his waist and he is defending the people of Tabasco,” he said about his fellow party member. López Obrador noted that the minister of the Navy is coordinating the armed forces relief DN-III plan in the region, which has a history of floods.

Medical residencies will almost double. The national examination for medical residencies will see an increase of almost 100 percent in positions available for health professionals this year, INSABI’s national medical coordinator Alejandro Svarch said. The doctor explained that 9,449 more position-scholarships will be created compared to 2019 and distributed across all public health institutions in a project worth nearly MX$2.5 billion (US$1.2 billion). ISSSTE stands out as the top beneficiary of the program with an increase of 3,799 positions, 1,129 percent more than in 2019. The official noted that applicants may choose to do their residencies outside of Mexico for which talks with Canada, the US, Argentina, Cuba and Australia are ongoing. The expectation is that these countries can take about 1,600 Mexican resident doctors through a CONACYT program.

Mexico needs more specialists. Mexico does not have the doctors the country needs, so an enhanced medical residencies examination process is necessary, President López Obrador said, about the exam that will take place on Saturday. “Mexico does not have the doctors that the country needs and we are already beginning to provide solutions,” he said and highlighted that a greater number of general practitioners can specialize. He added that more applicants could be accepted. Over 50,448 participants are expected to take the exam. “The plan is already in place and it is going to start with the new exam this Saturday. We have the budget,” he said.

Comic book for nutritional awareness. A nutritional orientation campaign is ongoing with the distribution of a new comic book, President López Obrador said. “The nutritional orientation campaign has already begun. We have started to distribute over 30 million copies of a comic book to houses,” he said. A new labeling regulation for processed food and sugary drinks also came into force recently, aiming to trim obesity levels in Mexico, the main COVID-19 comorbidity. 

Denies role in wife promotion. President López Obrador said that his wife Beatriz Gutiérrez Muller is an academic and researcher, so her recent acceptance in the National System of Researchers was not an imposition where he was involved. “I take this opportunity to clarify misinformation from opponents, those who do not love us. My wife Beatriz is an academic, she belongs to a University, teaches, does research and publishes,” he said. The president noted that Gutiérrez Muller presented an exam to enter the National System of Researchers two years ago and later qualified as a candidate.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish