Cuban Doctors in Brazil - Are They in the Dark or Not?

Cuban Doctors in Brazil: Are They in the Dark or Not?

February 24, 2014

Jimmy Roque Martínez



HAVANA TIMES — Practically no Cuban working abroad as part of an

international brigade contracted by the their government knows exactly

how much the host country pays Havana for their services, but most

content themselves with the money they get, which allows them to buy

certain things they need and is always much more than what they earn in

Cuba.



Recently, there was news that at least five Cuban physicians in Brazil's

Mas Medicos ("More Doctors") program, which aims to address some of the

country's healthcare needs, had deserted. Such desertions are far from

uncommon. On this particular occasion, one of the doctors, Ramon Matos

Rodriguez, is accusing Cuba of lying to her about the actual amount of

her salary.



Another physician told me that it was only after six years of work in

Venezuela that she was able to find out what her true salary was, thanks

to a government official in the mission who was a friend of hers. If

Cubans are cheap labor back home, why should they expect anything else

abroad (signing a contract with the very same State that exploits them

at home)?



During the preparations for the Mas Medicos program at the end of 2012,

the first doctors who traveled to Brazil held a meeting with Ministry of

Health officials, where they were told that anyone who deserted the

mission would not be authorized to work in Brazil (not even in the

private sector).



As regards the "work contract", the members of Cuba's brigade were told

that, in the event a Brazilian government official in Cuba asked them

how much they would be paid for their services, they were to reply they

didn't know, as they had yet to sign the agreement.



At the time, no one raised any objections to the bureaucrats who

arbitrarily imposed such regulations on them.



The terms under which Cuban medical doctors are to work in Brazil were

negotiated by the governments of Brazil and Cuba, as well as the

Pan-American Health Organization and the Sociedad Mercantil Cubana

Comercializadora de Servicios Medicos (Cuban Medical Services Firm).



It is true the Cuban government deceived Cuban health professionals by

concealing the actual amount paid for their services, but the doctors

surely suspected this ahead of time. It doesn't make it any less unjust,

but it seems hard to believe it took them by surprise.



The salary these doctors earn abroad is high compared to the average

salary paid in Cuba (around 20-25 USD a month). This contradicts the

foreign press campaign that refers to the work of Cubans in Brazil as

"slave labor."



If there is any maneuver by the Cuban State, it is to be found in the

contracts. Lack of transparency is characteristic of this government.

The brigade members were denied the right to know the real amount paid

for their services and the percentage that would end up in government hands.



Or were they? Can any doctor who has deserted or is still working in

Brazil make their contract public?



In addition, Cubans should also be informed of the amounts earned

through medical services abroad and how these sums are used to improve

Cuba's healthcare system. There is no reason to conceal this information.



In a comment published in Havana Times this past January, a Cuban

medical doctor denounced the government for lying to him about the

amount paid for his services in Brazil and quoted Cuba's Health

Vice-Minister Marcia Cobas' declarations for the Brazilian press on

August 26.



On that occasion, Cobas had reported that Cubans would receive anywhere

from 40 to 50 percent of the 10 thousand Reales (4,100 USD) Brazil would

be paying for each professional. Now, we know the Cuban government is

actually paying only 25 per cent of that salary.



In the meantime, Cuba's official press has limited itself to reporting

that some sectors in Brazil are attempting to discredit the Mas Medicos

program and has offered partial information about the case of Dr. Ramona

Matos Rodriguez, making no mention of the issue of salaries or the

62-thousand-dollar compensation Matos is suing for in Brazil's courts.



Source: Cuban Doctors in Brazil: Are They in the Dark or Not? - Havana

Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=102046