Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has categorically refuted reports circulating in local media regarding the alleged hiring of Cuban doctors through intermediary companies — with claims that they were paid higher salaries than their Mexican counterparts. She emphasized that the bilateral agreement is based on direct hiring, with compensation levels that are equivalent.
During her regular morning press conference, the president described the information disseminated in recent hours as “absolutely false,” clarifying that the healthcare professionals from the island “earn exactly the same as a Mexican doctor.”
“It is a direct hiring process,” Sheinbaum stated, explaining that no third-party company is involved in the selection or employment of the Cuban specialists providing services in Mexico.
The Mexican leader stressed that the work of these doctors is essential in remote, hard-to-reach areas where no domestic specialists are willing to work. “They provide a great deal of help in many remote locations where they are currently working, simply because there are no medical specialists willing to go to those places,” she emphasized.
Sheinbaum recalled that in March, she had already described the bilateral agreement with Cuba as “very good,” noting that it represents a significant form of assistance for Mexico. At that time, she was responding to a question regarding pressure from Washington on Latin American nations to abandon medical cooperation with the island. The president also brought up the role played by Cuban doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they provided assistance under extremely difficult conditions, and noted that they are currently working in numerous locations across the country, where “they are paid what they are owed.”
“It is clearly part of a bilateral agreement. I mentioned yesterday that in the north — in Baja California Sur — it is difficult to get Mexican medical specialists to go there, yet the Cuban doctors are willing to work there. And in many rural areas where we need medical specialists, they are there,” the president emphasized.
The medical cooperation agreement between Cuba and Mexico has been a subject of debate in recent weeks, following questions raised by opposition groups regarding the working conditions of the Cuban professionals. Sheinbaum’s statements are intended to put the controversy to rest and reaffirm the validity and transparency of the bilateral agreement.
IMAGE CREDIT: Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico. Photo: Jeannette Flores / Archive
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
