Learning

El Universal hopes that when the next health emergency rolls around, Mexico will be more independent: 

Other countries are surprised by the Mexican response. Brazil and France have complained about the national slowness in informing about the epidemic. Along those lines, foreign correspondents have asked the Secretary of Health José Ángel Córdova: why is it that in Mexico people keep dying of a curable illness while in the rest of the world they are merely sick? His response was: "Because here they continue arriving late." If this is true, we would have to ask ourselves if the Mexican hospital infrastructure in and of itself isn't a factor that explains this mortality or perhaps also the previous health condition of the deceased.

Yesterday we wondered in this space if the national health system would be capable of attending tens of thousands of patients. There is reason to doubt it. What is certain is that without the help of foreign specialists, it would be of little benefit to have beds, face masks, and doctors for millions. We would depend on American and European experts to study our diseases, develop a vaccine and mass produce it.

We are incapable of confronting this crisis alone, not for lack of leadership or tenacity, but because we have neglected to invest for decades in universities, labs, and scientists. Let's learn the lesson.

Down the line, it'll be interesting to see if the foreign complaints have any foundation, as well as why Mexicans are so much more susceptible to swine flu. So far the WHO has been supportive, but I don't think they'd be complaining now unless the Mexican effort was woefully incompetent. But even if this editorial turns out to be a bit harsh in its assessment of Mexico's health infrastructure, the last paragraph is hard to argue with.