Mexico: Young Doctor Killed While Treating Patient, Death Sparks Protests

Several medical school graduates held a protest in Mexico City following the death of 24-year-old Erick David Andrade, a young doctor treating a patient in the northern Mexican state of Durango when he was killed.

According to the Washington Post, several armed men shot him to death as he was doing his duty to save lives on July 15.

Members of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel may have reportedly killed Andrade, who was part of the staff of the only clinic in a small town near Sinaloa called Pueblo Nuevo.

Armed men entered the hospital and had an argument with some staff, and opened fire on Andrade, killing him. The motive for the attack remains unclear.

Young Doctors in Mexico Demand a Change in the System

On Wednesday, the young medical graduates, wearing white coats, marched on the streets of Mexico City to protest the violence their colleagues face.

They held signs which said, "I am a medical school graduate. Why are you going to kill me?" and "A dead doctor can't save lives."

Young medical school graduates in Mexico are often assigned to dangerous areas during the first year of their careers. It has been said that this is often part of their training and is mandatory for all who graduate from medical school.

However, the protesters want to change that practice due to the recent deaths. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has already acknowledged that these young doctors are reluctant to serve in these remote places because of the rising violence.

This was why he justified his act of importing doctors from Cuba. According to the Associated Press, the first batch of these doctors arrived in Mexico last week.

The president stated earlier this year that the situation is bad in those places, so doctors don't want to go there, even if there are plenty of jobs available.

However, one of the protesters, Monica Armas, noted that the Cubans are not the solution. She said the government needs to reform the entire structure, the social service, and the infrastructure at rural health centers.

Another protester pointed out that the government is also placing the newly-arrived Cuban doctors in danger because of the violence.

Recent Spate of Deaths Concerning Doctors in Mexico

The killing of Erick Andrade is just one of the many deaths involving young medical practitioners, who are often sent to remote places as part of their mandatory "social service," where these young doctors barely even get paid for their work.

These remote places are often under the control of violent gangs and drug cartels, which make that mandatory "social service" even more dangerous.

One of the most recent examples is the killing of an anesthesiologist for a rural government hospital in Chihuahua.

She was shot dead in her home. Another horrifying incident happened was when a doctor was killed on a highway near Jerez in Zacatecas state last year.

Two paramedics were also murdered in the same month in the same state. ABC News reported that Mexico's Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer has refused to consider changes.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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