Doctors fighting Mexico against coronavirus are attacked from all sides, including its own president

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Mexico City: As the number of COVID-19 cases in Mexico increased, a dispute broke out between the president and medical organizations because he accused some doctors of joining them just for money.

The former health minister criticized Andrés Manuel López Obrador for interrupting the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Friday at a press conference, López Obrador criticized his critics and said that under the leadership of the previous government, the first question that doctors asked patients was not their condition, but how many Money they have. He didn't say how he knew who the doctor he was talking about or whether they worked in the public or private sector.

The charge led at least 23 universities and associations across the country to ask for a public apology, calling them "irresponsible" and "shameful."

The Mexican General Surgery Association said in a statement: "It offends the entire medical union." "Now is not the time to criticize, disqualify or condemn medical care."

For some people, López Obrador's statement is not surprising, as he often criticized his previous "neoliberal" government. He used daily press conferences to criticize critics and the media, and downplayed the coronavirus health crisis. After his own experts advised people to stay at home, he continues to support supporters and tour the country.

After being criticized, López Obrador attempted to drop his charges at a press conference on Monday. He said that if the doctor accepts his statement, it means he believes they are trying to get rich, "I apologize." Then he went on to say that the socialist revolutionary Ernesto "Guevara" was a doctor.

When dozens of health workers were infected with COVID-19, protests broke out that lacked protective equipment in several states. After López Obrador ordered substantial budget cuts to delay surgery and lead to layoffs, the shortage even plagued the health care system even before the pandemic. Last year, Germán Martínez, head of the social security agency that provides health services to more than 12 million Mexicans, resigned after resigning as "inhuman".

Dozens of medical personnel were verbally and physically attacked, including a nurse who was cleared by an unknown bleacher on the way home from work, and an emergency doctor was arrested by police for attempting to drive around the neighborhood. In the State of Mexico, people broke into public hospitals and beat them in front of medical personnel accused of injecting lethal solutions into patients to kill them.

Francisco Moreno, an infectious disease specialist at ABC Hospital [a private hospital] in Mexico City, said: "No other country in the world has seen its medical staff abandoned as we have come here". The best example. "

López Obrador's office did not respond to a request for comment.

For many members of the medical community, the most troubling is that they do not understand the severity of the Mexican crisis. According to health officials, there have been 3,522 confirmed cases and 3,465 deaths, but complaints about the lack of widespread reporting have cast doubt on these figures. The private research company Statista said that Mexico had about 1,000 tests for every million people, making it one of the lowest test rates in the world.

Authorities estimate that around 75% of the hospital beds in the country that can use ventilators and 38% of the beds in Mexico City are still available, but doctors doubt it. According to Moreno, in Mexico City, almost all the beds in private hospitals are used.

Last week, "El País", "Wall Street Journal" and "New York Times" reported that the death toll in Mexico was much higher than that announced by the government.

Former government health minister José Narro Robles questioned official COVID-19 statistics from Mexico, warning that many cases have been reported as influenza or atypical pneumonia.

Asked about the allegations on Friday, López Obrador sacked them in a political dispute and said there had been corruption in the medical system until his government took office.

But López Obrador is facing reports of corruption in his government. According to the Mexicans, a company owned by the son of one of his allies, León Manuel Bartlett, has been investigated for selling expensive fans to the state. The cost is $ 65,000, not $ 20,000 before the crisis. Civil anti-corruption organization "Anticorruption and impunity".