Protests Erupt Over Cancún Worker’s Death – Clinic Director Under Fire

Yesterday, approximately twenty workers from the Institute of Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) clinic in Cancún staged a protest on Tulum Avenue. They held union delegate, José Lorenzo Braga, responsible for the death of Nelson Emiliano Fierros Álvarez, who they claim died due to medical negligence. The protesters are calling for the removal of the clinic director, Adrián Alejandro Albornoz Zapata.

Holding signs saying "We are all Nelson" and "We demand better medical care with the necessary resources and supplies to uphold the right to health", Fierros Álvarez's widow, Josylan Elymar Ulloa Moreno, stated that her husband did not receive timely medical attention, which ultimately led to his death.

Fierros Álvarez, an active worker at the ISSSTE clinic, was admitted on April 24 with a cerebral ischemia. His condition worsened after going 13 hours without being examined by an internal medicine doctor. His co-workers had to raise funds to transport him to the General Hospital “Jesús Kumate Rodríguez” due to the lack of an ISSSTE ambulance.

At the General Hospital, he was seen by a specialist and then transferred to the Regional ISSSTE Hospital in Mérida. There, they explained that patients need to be treated within three hours of the first sign of symptoms. Unfortunately, this window had already passed, and his condition continued to deteriorate, leading to brain death. He passed away on May 3.

Ulloa Moreno revealed that during her 42-year-old husband's stay at the Cancún clinic, nurses asked her to bring water to administer his medication. When he needed to be transferred to Mérida, the clinic did not provide an ambulance, which delayed his admission and further worsened his condition.

"I call it negligence because they are civilly liable for not providing timely help", she said. "That's why I'm protesting and demanding criminal justice so the authorities pay attention to us," she added. Workers from various departments are demanding that the hospital director, along with doctors Gracian Bill Stephen Reyes and De la Peña Leyla Esteban, be held accountable for the death of Nelson Emiliano Fierros Álvarez.

They are urging federal authorities to intervene, noting that the Cancún clinic has only 19 beds, 60 doctors, and serves 120,000 beneficiaries.

Fierros Álvarez's case is the latest in a series of medical negligence incidents at the clinic. Earlier this month, a misdiagnosis endangered a 19-month-old baby named Gabriel Emiliano C.A. The baby's mother explained that due to three misdiagnoses and a lack of a pediatrician, the clinic director issued a transfer order to the Regional Hospital in Mérida instead of the General Hospital in Cancún. This occurred on May 3, but the document was unsigned and the baby was eventually taken to Cancún. This incident further highlights the irregular actions taken by the clinic authorities.