IMSS Workers End Mexico City March and Announce Protests Every 15 Days
IMSS workers end Mexico City march and announce protests every 15 days; the Institute reports 277 hospitals operating and two with brief outages
The national march by workers of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) concluded on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, outside the Institute's headquarters on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, with the announcement of a mobilization every 15 days and no incidents reported by the capital's government.
The contingent set out from the Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI and advanced along Insurgentes and Reforma, on a day that Proceso reports drew around seven thousand participants according to the Government of Mexico City, and that was replicated in at least 12 states according to the organizers. The mobilization took place one day before the union consultation on Wednesday, October 14, regarding the 2.9% increase proposed by the Institute. For private clinics, medical offices and supply vendors, the operational question is whether care can be sustained while the protests repeat every two weeks.
IMSS Director General Zoé Robledo reported on Monday at a press conference that of the Institute's 277 hospitals, only two, one in Jalisco and another in Chihuahua, registered operating problems last week, and that the same occurred in one of the 1,600 family medicine clinics, in both cases for a brief period. "El Seguro está atendiendo, ha habido partos, cirugías, consultas, laboratorio, urgencias. La gran mayoría de las unidades está operando," he said, according to Expansión Política. The workforce reported that it rotates to cover the shift and elected 37 representatives for the sit-in outside headquarters, and that blockades near hospitals allow ambulances to pass. The demonstrators maintain a six-point manifesto that includes a 10% salary increase, supply of materials and medicines, a pension regime without Afores and a health budget of 7% of GDP.
The union consultation on October 14 and the mobilization announced for two weeks later mark the immediate calendar. The indicator to watch is operational: how many of the 277 hospitals and the 1,600 family medicine clinics report disruptions while the protests repeat.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.