Dentists in the Los Algodones area do not agree with the renovation of the gatehouse in this location; They assure that it will affect them and Mayor Norma Alicia Bustamante Martínez says nothing can be done about itbut they will apply strategies to direct tourism towards the center of the city.

The former delegate of Los Algodones, Morayma Medellín López, said that there were only a few disgruntled doctors, whose offices are located immediately after the pedestrian line, but that the vast majority of doctors agree with the work.

Last Monday a meeting was held in which Senator Gina Cruz Blackledge, Councilor Edel de la Rosa Anaya and Los Algodones Delegate Herminia Marín were present, in which dentists, doctors and businessmen of this community complained about the renovation of the gatehouse.

Los Algodones is a city in which there is a strong medical tourism activity, it is a delegation of the municipality of Mexicali located in the northeast of the Mexicali Valley and bordering Andrade, Arizona.

Every year it is visited by thousands of American and Canadian seniors, who walk across it, but with the renovation, they will have to walk further to get to their medical appointments, which could eventually cause them to forgo it. go, and thus greatly harm the tourist. and the economic activity of Los Algodones, the demonstrators emphasized.

Bernardo Magaña, promoter and pioneer of medical tourism in this region, emphasized during this meeting that with this, we would end up killing the city of Los Algodones by putting an end to medical tourism.

In this regard, Mayor Norma Bustamante Martínez mentioned that she knows the project and the problem, since when they went to see the inspection of the renovation work of the gatehouse, a group of businessmen pointed it out. accompanied to raise the problem.

“Then we take care of this with customs, because the one who does this is Mexican customs; I dealt with it at the security office with the head of customs, whom I know well, and he told me that there was no other solution, that it was a finished project, that he was almost finished, that it was like that and there was no way to move it; “That’s how it was designed.”

The mayor mentioned that there is an impact on medical offices, because American tourists are used to the fact that when they enter Los Algodones on foot after leaving customs, their consultations are immediately available, that is- that is, they don’t have to take a detour.

But the truth is, more areas are opening up, the city is growing, and they’re hoping that the dentists or doctors who have their clients will turn around and find them.

They did not tell him the completion date, but although he fought to have the work changed, it cannot be changed anymore, he explained.

Once the work is completed, they will see what the roads look like, so they can eliminate the so-called “snow birds”, which are the North American tourists who come to Los Algodones in the month of December to receive medical treatment.

That is to say, they are going to implement a strategy to be able to guide these tourists and direct them towards the traditional area of ​​the center of Los Algodones, although they do not believe that the doctors will lose clientele; At first, they will become uncontrollable, hence the need to provide guides and the presence of the municipality.

JUSTIFY

Medellín López, former municipal delegate under the administration of Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, said that she is from Los Algodones and that it was she who received the project from the army, who explained to her that it There would now be two direct routes and an inspection route to enter the city from the United States, whereas currently there is only one.

That is to say, currently cars entering Mexico travel on a single lane, there is a single lane for those that are free and those that must be inspected; and if they find a substance, they stop the flow between 30 and 40 minutes.

Nowadays, it takes between 40 minutes and an hour to enter Los Algodones from the United States.

On the other hand, the gatehouse remains in the same place, because if previously tourists entered the city via avenue A, they will now do so via avenue B, that is to say they will only do so between 30 and 40 meters more, because the blocks are short.

He explained that the military told him that it would be a job that would be highly applauded, because he is a millionaire and that it would change the face of the border port, and they did not believe that anyone could oppose this project. .

The Los Algodones checkpoint was considered by criminal groups to be very accessible for transporting weapons and even fentanyl to Mexico, but this is no longer the case; The presence of the military stopped this flow, he said.

“Good doctors say that it seems insane to them that Doctor Magaña, who is a doctor who is never happy with what the government does, whether good or bad, that is to say that he always gives his point of view, which is respectable. “He is a man who was an excellent doctor at the time, but who has now fallen into a serious economic situation, to the point of having to rent his businesses to survive.”

Dr. Magaña and his brother-in-law, Dr. Medina, added that they believe this could affect them, although they had already been affected before the modernization of the gatehouse, their economic situation has deteriorated for years , they’re doing it. We do not have to blame the federal government for the decrease in the number of patients because they changed the entry from Mexico, which will no longer be in front of them.

There are doctors eight to 10 blocks from the queue who have such good reputations that people go to where they need to be treated, he said.

Today, doctors rely on technology and social networks, invest in advertisements on American channels and make appointments via Facebook, which is not done by former doctors who do not believe in social networks and do not not invest, said Medellín López.