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Journalism: The difference between criticism and opposition

Off the Record features fact-checked news written by journalists and contributors to EL UNIVERSAL

In the last 104 years, this newspaper has seen authoritarian and corrupt governments - Photo: File Photo/EL UNIVERSAL
09/04/2020 |09:44
Redacción El Universal
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Journalism: The difference between criticism and opposition

In the last 104 years, this newspaper has seen authoritarian and corrupt governments . Some even tried, unsuccessfully, to close EL UNIVERSAL . In none of those cases, including when one administration tried to use tax authorities to attack the newspaper, has EL UNIVERSAL acted as the opposition. The work of the newspaper is not to be the political oppositio n, it is investigative journalism , criticism , and the dissemination of reliable information; we will stay in that path. So no, EL UNIVERSAL didn’t become the opposition, it has never been. Anyone who wants to make sure this is the case can read the newspaper or check out our website to see that we take all positions into account, including what President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has to say, who confuses journalists with the opposition.

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Emergency at the IMSS

Mexico has yet to enter the peak of COVID-19 as the country is still in the second phase of its contingency plan. However, it seems like, for IMSS director Zoé Robledo , the third phase is here. We’ve bee told that as time goes by, he has more critics among IMSS healthcare workers, who despite being in the frontline fighting COVID-19, have been ignored and abandoned. For weeks, Robledo was warned that health workers didn’t have protection and basic supplies but they were ignored and discredited. Now, authorities can’t hide the fact that dozens of IMSS doctors have contracted coronavirus . The testimonies of nurses and doctors show that the IMSS director hasn’t understood that it is better to be safe than sorry and now, he will lament ignoring the pleas for help.

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A mission for the Health Minister

After a pharmaceutical company announced a plan to supply lupus patients with a medicine that sold out after rumors spread that it could cure COVID-19 , their system was overwhelmed in less than 24 hours. We’ve been told that many lupus and arthritis patients who called to request the medicine weren't able to place an order. We’ve been told that this was because the company started to receive 90 calls per minute and their line collapsed. It is still unclear if all those who called are patients or people who want to buy the drug in case it is effective against coronavirus. So while Dr. López-Gatell handles the pandemic, Health Minister Jorge Alcocer should work on a plan to guarantee the supply of this drug for lupus and arthritis patients who are treated at public hospitals.

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Congress is not going back to work anytime soon

It’s been two weeks since Congress suspended its work as a result of the health emergency . Opposition lawmakers remember that Morena and its allies didn’t want to work from home unless the President urges them to. Meanwhile, in the Senate , they already have 50 proposals about COVID-19 and they’re all pending.

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