Cuban Doctor Leaves "More Doctors" Program and Seeks Refuge in Brazil

02/06/2014 - 08h32

The Cuban doctor Ramona Matos Rodriguez, 51, filed a formal application for refuge with the Brazilian government on Wednesday afternoon.

She left the government's "More Doctors" ("Mais Médicos", in its Portuguese) program on Saturday, and travelled to Brasília, seeking help in order to remain in the country. Having made her request, she is now permitted to remain in Brazil until a decision is made.

Her request was taken to the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE, in its Portuguese acronym) by Mendonça Filho and Ronaldo Caiado of Democrats (DEM), one of the main parties of the Brazilian opposition.

They filed the request directly with Paulo Abrão, the national secretary for justice. Work will begin on Rodriguez's application in March, though there is no date set for its conclusion.

"Now that the government has received her request, she will have all the rights of a free citizen. We expect good sense and balance from the government," said Caiado in a press conference following the delivery of Rodriguez's documents.

Caiado also said he intends to meet with the Minister of Health in order to discuss Rodriguez's exit from the "More Doctors" program.

Rodriguez also requested assistance from the American government on Saturday. She confirmed to Folha that she had requested an American visa from the U.S. embassy in Brasília, as the United States runs a special program which grants travel documents to Cuban professionals.

It was through this program that Cuban doctors working in Venezuela obtained permission to enter the U.S.

Rodriguez received a proposal suggesting she might work in the administrative area of the National Federation of Doctors (FENAM), while she waits for the decision that will determine her future in Brazil.

"We're considering the possibility of her working in FENAM," said Caiado. "I guarantee that she won't be working in a hotel, but doing something related to her field."

Rodriguez thanked all the representatives and workers of the Brazilian parliament. She arrived on Tuesday night and spent all day on Wednesday in the office of the DEM leadership.

She said that her first wish upon leaving Congress was to take a bath. She had a busy day, in which she was visited by dozens of representatives who came to offer their support.

Members of the women's bloc in Congress also visited her to discuss issues related to her security.

On Tuesday she announced to Congress that she had left her post, in the countryside of Pará, when she discovered that the salary paid to Cuban professionals was less than that of the other doctors participating in the "More Doctors" program.

"I think I was cheated by Cuba. They didn't tell me that Brazil would be paying R$10,000 (USD $4162) for the services of foreign doctors. They told me that I would get USD $400 here and another USD $600 back in Cuba when my contract finished. I thought that sounded like a good salary, but I didn't know that the cost of living here in Brazil would be so high," she said.

REFUGE

Unlike a request for asylum, which requires presidential approval, the state of refuge sought by Rodriguez is granted by CONARE, an institution linked to the courts. If her request is denied, she will still be able to appeal to the Ministry of Justice as a last resort.

Once the request has been filed, the individual is granted certain rights, such as the right to an identity card and the right to work. However, Rodriguez will not be able to practice medicine in Brazil, since she would be required to revalidate her qualifications.

This procedure was not required by the "More Doctors" program.

According to CONARE's president, Paulo Abrão, close to 1500 requests are waiting to be analyzed by the committee. He says that it is hard to specify an average time for each request, and the group's next meeting does not take place until February 24.

Since the 1970s, CONARE has accepted 71 requests for refuge by Cubans. There are currently five being analyzed, though there is no record of how many requests have been denied.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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Sérgio Lima/Folhapress

The Cuban doctor Ramona Matos Rodriguez, 51, filed a formal application for refuge with the Brazilian government on Wednesday