Monday, January 23, 2012
President
Addresses Health Coverage, Port of Entry Upgrades, and Tariff Cuts in Tijuana
Presidency of the Republic
Tijuana, Jan. 20 - Mexican
President Felipe Calderón conducted a working tour of Baja California, where he hoisted the white flag of Universal
Health Coverage in the state.
During his speech, the president pointed
out that 12 years ago only half of all Mexicans had effective access to health services. Since then, the government has worked
to expand public health coverage. In just over a decade, health coverage has been expanded through programs such as the Popular
Insurance Scheme, which covers illnesses such as cancer. The president pointed out that coverage, which provides access to
doctors, medicine, treatment and hospitals for anyone who needs it is now complemented by hospital coverage. During this administration,
38 new hospitals and clinics have been built in Baja California, and another 20 have been restored or remodeled.
The president declared that advances in health coverage prevent families from incurring catastrophic
expenses in order to deal with medical emergencies. Providing more equal opportunities for health access creates a fairer,
stronger society. He concluded by saying that his government will work until the last day of the administration to continue
reinforcing the social fabric to ensure that the seed of a safer, fairer, more prosperous Mexico will yield fruits that will
benefit all Mexicans.
Later, the president inaugurated four cloverleaf-type
roads at the "El Chaparral" border crossing, where over 30 million vehicles travel every year. The president declared
that the border crossing area will have a more agile traffic flow, and thus boost economic development. He reported that nearly
$180 million pesos were invested in the construction of the road interchanges, which will improve the quality of life of Tijuana
residents by reducing the time required to cross the city, and they will boost tourism and trade.
The president explained that completion of this construction work marks the end of the first stage of the "El
Chaparral" integral project, which includes the construction of a new light vehicle access road into Tijuana, with 22
primary inspection lanes and a pedestrian crossing. Once the integral project has been completed, the current Puerta Mexico
border crossing capacity will be doubled, and border wait times will be reduced by up to 50 percent at the port of entry.
The president subsequently announced the Competitiveness and Tariff Reduction Decree in the
border economic zone. This scheme includes incentives for firms, authorizes the reduction of 200 tariff items, and puts an
end to 204 transition measures with China. This will benefit border traders who will no longer have to pay a surcharge for
importing products from that country.
The president ended by saying that
with more and better infrastructure and incentives for commercial activity, his government is promoting competitiveness in
the region.
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Press
Release: Presidency of the Republic, Mexico, D.F.; translation Presidency of the Republic
