The mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez, attacked the Minister of Health, Guillermo Alfonso, after his controversial statements about the crisis that the San Rafael de Itagüí Hospital is going through.
The official’s statements generated indignation in the Paisa president, who did not hesitate to compare it with past statements made by Pablo Escobar and his hitmen.
The controversy broke out after the minister responded with the phrase “the rich also cry” when he was questioned in an interview about the situation at the San Rafael de Itagüí Hospital, whose manager, Luis Fernando Arroyave, appeared publicly crying when recounting how the financial crisis affects his staff.
“What bad people they are, what bad human beings they are,” said Mayor Gutiérrez, who stated that the minister’s words outraged him not only as a local leader, but also as a Colombian citizen.
Gutiérrez went further and established a historical comparison that has generated controversy: he recalled the Oporto nightclub massacre, which occurred on June 18, 1990, where hitmen serving Pablo Escobar murdered 19 young people.
“That’s what Pablo Escobar and his hitmen said when they committed that massacre: ‘that the rich also cry’. How are they different today?” questioned the president.
According to the mayor of Medellín, the National Government deliberately destroyed the health system under a supposed “class struggle” that only exists in the minds of its leaders. “To improve the health system it was not necessary to destroy it. They destroyed it and are putting the lives of millions of people at risk,” he denounced.
Gutiérrez revealed alarming figures: between January 12 and 18, the average saturation of emergency services reached 92%. In high complexity it reached 98.8%, with some institutions reporting saturation levels higher than 180%.
The president explained that this oversaturation is due to the fact that the EPSs intervened by the Government (which represent about 65% of the system) do not deliver medications to patients.
“When a patient does not receive their medicines, they get worse and end up in the emergency room. That’s why there is this terrible saturation,” he argued.
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Medellin City
Case of the San Rafael de Itagüí Hospital exemplifies the seriousness of the situation
The New EPS owes this institution $8.83 billion pesos, which has left the medical center practically without liquidity to operate.
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Manager Arroyave publicly confessed that he cannot pay full salaries, which amount to $2.5 billion per month, and that suppliers no longer want to ship basic supplies such as needles and syringes.
“Seeing my officials arrive crying, saying that they have nothing to eat or pay rent, and having to tell them that I cannot pay them, has been devastating,” Arroyave said, adding that the majority are mothers who head their families.
Federico Gutiérrez insisted that this problem does not exclusively affect the wealthy sectors, as the official discourse suggests.
“Here not only the rich cry, the poor cry, the middle class cries, the entire country cries. Stop being so inhuman, stop being so shameless,” he said.
Meanwhile, the San Rafael Hospital maintains care despite the difficulties. “Our premise is that they are human beings who need help. If a child arrives with appendicitis, we have to operate on him, even if it is with his nails,” said his manager, who will soon travel to Bogotá to meet with the Nueva EPS controller.
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