Doctors Trained with Tax Money Flee Abroad... The Leaky Barrel of Harsh Argentina

Choosing to Go to Europe Amid Prolonged Economic Crisis

A warning has been issued that young Argentine doctors, trained with tax money, are being 'exported' to advanced countries such as Europe. This means that Argentina's talented workforce is being drained due to the ongoing economic crisis.

The local daily newspaper La Nacion focused on the trend of Argentine doctors migrating abroad on the 16th (local time). The outlet pointed out that doctors moving overseas from Argentina is not a recent phenomenon, but a result of repeated economic crises over decades.

Argentine doctors receive their education at tax-funded national universities and are then granted licenses. In the past, young doctors who moved abroad after only completing their education were viewed unfavorably, but recently, a social atmosphere has spread where many think, "If I can go, I will also migrate."

Andres Ruemann, who moved to Germany after completing his residency in 2021, told La Nacion, "To earn more money, I worked three night shifts a week and then worked again the next day. There were times I went 36 hours without sleep," expressing dissatisfaction with the poor working conditions in his home country.

Argentinian Doctors / Photo by Yonhap News

Currently, Spain and Germany are reported to be the main 'export destinations' for Argentine doctors. Spain, thanks to the Spain-Argentina agreement, allows doctors to complete their license approval process before migration, and since Argentina is a Spanish-speaking country, immigration is also advantageous.

European advanced countries such as Italy and Germany offer high salaries to Argentine doctors, making migration even more attractive.

Due to this brain drain, La Nacion warned that in about ten years, there may not be a single specialist in certain fields in Argentina.

Meanwhile, Argentina's economic crisis is ongoing. As of last year, the inflation rate soared to 94.8%, nearly doubling. To curb the soaring prices, the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) raised the benchmark interest rate from 38% to 75% over the past year, and the Minister of Economy was replaced three times.

Due to the rapid inflation, the value of the previously highest denomination, the 1000 peso bill, plummeted. As a desperate measure, the BCRA issued a new 2000 peso bill, doubling the amount, on the 2nd of this month.