President Claudia Sheinbaum inaugurated the Francisco Altamirano Núñez General Hospital of IMSS Bienestar on Friday, benefiting more than one million people across seven municipalities in the State of Mexico. The opening comes 19 years after the repression experienced by the people of Atenco and symbolizes the current government’s commitment to social justice and historical reparation.
“Today we have a government that governs with the people, by the people, and for the people. The days when a few decided for the majority are over,” the president declared in her speech. She also announced the reactivation of the Justice Plan for Atenco, originally initiated by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which will now be coordinated by María Luisa Albores, head of the Food for Wellbeing program.
The new hospital required an investment of 1.1 billion pesos and features cutting-edge medical technology, including a CT scanner, ultrasound machines, a digital mammograph, and ophthalmology and endoscopy equipment. Starting in July, it will also offer five hemodialysis chairs. The facility will serve communities in Atenco, Texcoco, Ecatepec, Chiconcuac, Chiautla, Papalotla, and Tezoyuca.
Alejandro Svarch, Director of IMSS Bienestar, stated that the hospital includes 60 inpatient beds, 19 consultation rooms, three operating rooms, a blood bank, laboratory, intercultural birthing room, and emergency area equipped with TRIAGE and pediatric beds. The project is complemented by a regional network of health centers and hospitals throughout eastern State of Mexico.
Delfina Gómez, governor of the State of Mexico, said this hospital strengthens the state’s healthcare system. Ignacio del Valle, leader of the Peoples’ Front in Defense of the Land, thanked the government for honoring his late comrade Francisco Altamirano and called for the establishment of a university in the area as part of the same justice plan.
