Yucatán’s CRIT children’s hospital faces serious cutbacks due to budget shortfalls resulting from a dramatic decrease in donations and public funds.
The hospital, run by Fundación Teletón, relies on private donations and funding from the Yucatán state government, both of which have diminished drastically.
“When initially examining the viability of the CRIT Yucatán, state authorities assured us that funds would be forthcoming on a regular basis, but lately the money has not arrived in the way they promised,” said Fundación Teletón President Fernando Landeros in a Zoom call.
During the government of Ivonne Ortega Pacheco, the state of Yucatán contributed 100% of the agreed-upon funds to the CRIT. Towards the end of the term of Rolando Zapata, funds began to become more scarce. The current Vila administration has further reduced state contributions to the CRIT and has now failed to meet even 50% of its commitment.
As a result, the CRIT has dismissed several employees and reduced service in several areas such as orthopedics and pediatrics.
The CRIT has said that these cutbacks jeopardize the medical treatment of 962 minors with disabilities.
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Since 1996 Fundacion Teletón has broadcast 24-plus-hour TV and radio broadcast on Televisa-affiliated networks to raise money for the Centro de Rehabilitación Infantil Teletón or CRIT.
Fundacion Teletón helps to fund 24 hospitals across Mexico, including the CRIT Yucatán which first began to operate in 2009.
Since the Teletón first began to broadcast, it has been accused of being a tax laundering scheme that allows major corporations to deduct taxes in ways that lack transparency and use money obtained through the contributions of citizens via donation-matching schemes.
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