Doctors in Demonstrations By Oscar Emilio Rodríguez Coronado

   In Bolivia, the citizens of La Paz specially have to deal with

demonstrations in the streets very often.  This is because de government’s headquarters are located in this city as though it were the capital, but actually, the capital of Bolivia is Sucre in the department of Chuquisaca. Nevertheless, not only working sectors like miners, teachers, unions, vendors, transportation workers; but also university students, neighborhood associations, are used to going into marches and strikes. And when they want to show their nonconformity to the government, they come to the downtown of La Paz to make demonstrations whenever they want, sometimes blocking the highways and streets of the city. However, in the case of doctors who work in the public health area, in my opinion the problem becomes much more delicate.

   Everything is about responsibility and morality, because it would be really impossible to trust in a doctor who motivated by selfish directors, goes into demonstrations and strikes forgetting their job and the welfare of people. It is hardly imaginable that someone who have made their vow in order to protect and save lives, abandon the sick people to defend interest of few fake leaders.

 Fake leaders because it is noticeable that the majority of demonstrators does not even understand thoroughly why they are marching for. I really did not heard any fundamental argument justifying this demonstration, I only heard insults to the government; what is more, I saw a lot of medicine students among the protestors, students who seem to be just following orders. What makes more evident that almost all these people are being used by leaders who, as a matter of fact, do not care about the patient at all.

   Let me say finally that what is indeed even more perturbing, is the fact that citizens are becoming accustomed to seeing these professionals marching and protesting whenever they like as something totally normal; when actually leaving the hospital and your patients alone should be considered a serious act of immorality against human life.