Violence in State Elections/Deficit of Medical Specialists

Fifth wave of COVID-19 infections hits Mexico.  The Deputy Minister of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, explained that the increase in COVID-19 infections is due because the pandemic has not ended in the country. López-Gatell stressed that new waves of infections will continue to appear. However, they will be seasonal and less severe than the first. “The evidence is clear, there is an increase in cases of COVID-19 but it is because omicron is more transmissible. A small proportion of those infected are hospitalized and a much smaller proportion have lost their lives. The difference this time is the vaccine.”

This week, state authorities have announced that the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections has begun. According to the Ministry of Health, from May 29 to June 4, 14,993 cases were registered with an average daily rate of 2,000 infections. However, it was emphasized that currently only 3 percent of infected people are hospitalized and only 1 percent have died. There is currently an increase in infections in Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Mexico City, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa and Yucatan. The government announced that given the growing number of infections, daily reports on the situation of COVID-19 in the country will be published.

Specialist doctors do not apply for marginalized areas: Robledo. Zoe Robledo, Director of the Social Security Institute (IMSS), highlighted that of the 14,290 places that were offered for medical specialists, 7,360 places did not have applications because they were located in marginal areas of the country. “There is an evident disparity in the requests, depending on the entity. What we observe is that entities that concentrate urban population exceed the number of vacancies. However, in smaller urbanized states such as Chiapas, Veracruz, Guerrero, Nayarit, Durango, Chihuahua, Sonora and Oaxaca, there were not many applicants. Even if all applicants were hired, it would not be possible to cover the 46 percent doctor deficit that exists.”

Last month, after President Andres Manuel López Obrador was widely criticized for wanting to hire Cuban doctors to work in Mexico´s marginalized areas, the government announced that it will open new positions for Mexican doctors. Previously, López Obrador highlighted that the country has a deficit of 50,000 doctors, a problem that is exacerbated in rural areas as Mexican medical professionals seek to study and work in large cities. López Obrador said that sometimes Mexican doctors even refuse to move to rural areas. Meanwhile, medical and professional organizations in Mexico have claimed that López Obrador's initiative discriminates against Mexican doctors because they already compete in an oversaturated job market.

Violence in state elections: AMLO. López Obrador recognized that during the state elections there was violence and arbitrary arrests. However, López Obrador emphasized that the violence came from authorities of opposition parties "who did not want to lose and resorted to the strategy of fear." “There were arrests and confrontations. Moreover, those who had been detained are now free.”On June 5, elections for governors were held in Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tamaulipas, Aguascalientes and Durango. Previously, the government had been asked about possible acts of violence during the elections. However, López Obrador emphasized that there is no evidence that violence could occur. On election day, the Special Prosecutor for Electoral Crimes announced that there were 243 crimes, including burning of ballots, theft of ballot boxes by armed civilians, arbitrary detention, among others. For his part, López Obrador celebrated yesterday that the elections were "a peaceful day, without violence."