Delegates from rural communities across Los Cabos met with Baja California Sur Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío and federal health officials on April 9 to demand more doctors, better equipment, and ambulance service for underserved towns including La Ribera, Miraflores, and Santiago.
Carlos Castro, the Los Cabos director general of social development, represented Mayor Christian Agúndez at the meeting. He was joined by heads of three major public health systems: ISSSTE (the federal employees’ social security institute), IMSS (the Mexican Social Security Institute), and IMSS Bienestar, the program that extends coverage to uninsured populations in rural areas.
Specific Demands From Rural Delegates
Community leaders laid out a list of concrete requests. They called for more medical staff assigned to rural clinics, upgraded infrastructure at existing facilities, better tools and equipment, and reliable ambulance availability for patient transfers to hospitals in Cabo San Lucas or San José del Cabo.
The lack of ambulance access is a longstanding problem in the East Cape and Sierra de la Laguna foothills. La Ribera sits roughly 65 kilometers from the nearest major hospital in San José del Cabo. Miraflores and Santiago are closer but still depend on limited transport options for emergencies. The Red Cross in Los Cabos operates nine ambulances total, but not all are in service at any given time due to staffing constraints.
Officials Pledge Action
The governor and health sector leaders committed to addressing each demand raised during the meeting, according to the municipal government’s account. Castro said the Los Cabos city government would support those efforts to ensure residents receive what he called “dignified and professional” care.
As a tangible first step, two vehicles were delivered to the rural communities of Santa Cruz and El Ranchito during the event. The municipal statement did not specify whether the vehicles were ambulances or general-use trucks.
A Broader Pattern Across Mexico
The push for rural healthcare in Los Cabos fits a national trend. Since October 2024, Mexico has opened 13 new hospitals and eight outpatient clinics nationwide, according to federal Health Minister David Kershenobich. ISSSTE renewed its entire ambulance fleet last year, growing from 486 to 695 units, with 97 classified as advanced life-support vehicles. Whether those national investments will reach small BCS communities remains the central question for residents of the East Cape.
The story was first reported by the Los Cabos municipal government at loscabos.gob.mx.