Mexican Confusion And Contradictions In Medical Sector

Repercussions of the recent sharp Mexican peso devaluation and the surfacing of revelations of concealed economic instability in the past Carlos Salinas de Gortari administration have created an atmosphere of confusion, criticism and conflicting statements on near- and longer-term effects in all sectors, including the medical and health care areas.

While official sources, including the Ministry of Health, maintain that health care will continue as usual under the adverse conditions, the fact is that considerable belt-tightening will be inevitable, and President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon's austere recovery plan includes slashes in government spending and budgets.

The devaluation and economic crisis may have repercussions in the pharmaceutical field too. Due to the persistent lack of reliable information and/or ignoring of potentially troublesome trends, says the Marketletter's local correspondent, it is impossible to obtain a clear picture of the degree of adverse impact.