Luis Fernando Reyes

A group of relatives of children with cancer protest outside Mexico's Secretary of Public Health's Office during the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020.

MEXICO CITY — For months, the Mexican government has been accused of not providing needed medications to children with cancer as a result of the administration’s austerity plans. And a new crisis has appeared, as the authorities report that nearly 40,000 doses have been stolen.

The medication was kept in a warehouse in Mexico City, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed the theft, accusing pharmaceutical companies.

López Obrador says leads suggest that 10 companies are trying to block the government’s regulation efforts. 

Without providing any names, the president said those companies had lucrative agreements with previous administrations, doubling prices and controlling the distribution.

But opponents and parents of the affected children say the government has built a façade to cover its flaws. 

They say the current administration hasn’t addressed the public health crisis properly, while purchasing the new medications from France without a bidding process.