Veracruz health committees allege corruption in federal clinic program

Health Committee members in Veracruz have denounced irregularities regarding the federal program ‘La Clínica es Nuestra’. They allege that officials from IMSS-Bienestar, led by Roberto Ramos Alor, are intervening in the selection of companies tasked with medical unit improvement projects.

According to the complainants, recent changes have halted previous procedures that allowed citizen committees to freely choose priority projects and contractors through assemblies. Instead, they claim authorities are attempting to restrict contracting to a specific list of providers approved by Ramos Alor and Leonel Efrén Rivera Pinete, the Director of Public Health for the Veracruz Health Services (Sesver).

The committees argue this intervention creates a conflict of interest and facilitates potential corruption in the management of federal funds. The dispute intensified following a meeting on October 13, where IMSS-Bienestar officials communicated these procedural modifications and representatives of interested companies were reportedly present, despite decision-making authority officially resting with the citizen committees.