TOWARDS…. SCIENTIFIC HUMANISM
Dr. Alfredo Palacio
Towards… Scientific Humanism Dr. Alfredo Palacio Guayaquil, Ecuador, 1997 Cover: Elmo X. Avila C. Layout: Dara Printing: SobocGrafic
Traslators: Paul Williams Cueva Patrick Saari Peter Newton-Evans Clare St Lawrence Lisanne Newport Editor: Patrick Saari
PREFACE
Dear friend: When, you made the sacrifice of taking over the Ministry of Health during the administration of President Sixto Durán-Ballén, I told you in a newspaper article that you would be paying a very dear price for this gesture of public spirit. But you wanted to demonstrate, and I believe you have indeed proven your point, that it was possible to make up for the deficiencies that have been the hallmark of this Ministry, whose financial prospects are now very promising. When you accepted the challenge, you were fully aware of the serious nature of taking over such enormous responsibilities, that is, tackling powerful adverse factors, including some artificially created by cowardly partisan interests. And you did so, without flinching at the battlefield before you, because you had already had the opportunity of seeing up close the conflicts of that Ministry, in the area of social security. As a matter of record, you were for some time at the head of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) in Guayaquil, noteworthy for having the worst difficulties, insurmountable obstacles, and, to the detriment of the institution, widespread corruption.
Dr. Alfredo Palacio
3
One year in that office was equivalent to a preparatory course of undeniable importance. It acquainted you with the microcosm representing the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute as a whole. It was evident that the plan of action that you had drawn up earlier on a smaller scale would be applied nationwide, providing the approach to the problems affecting the Ministry of Health as a whole. The plan’s range was broad, difficult and complex. When you came into office, at a single glance you were able to take in the enormity of the task, but with amazing courage, you decided to tackle all risks. It was a bold decision. The tension between a need and meeting it is always a challenge, and oftentimes it is the weakest of the two that loses. And the weakest part is precisely the need. The needs afflicting our homeland’s social body are virtually boundless. You accepted this challenge fully conscious of what was going to happen. Before seeing you act, in a field that, because of your profession, was not familiar to you, I had my doubts about your drive and dedication, as well as of your capacity to fight, even though you were able to hold your position in daily combat against countless vested interests and conspirators bent upon seeing you fail. You did not retreat; you did what you had to do, establishing a global system, which if it continues to be implemented by the administration coming into office on August 10, will truly represent a white revolution of enormous positive consequences for the entire country. If this does happen, it will serve as a model for other pauperized nations of the Third World. And now the time has come for you to democratically pass the baton to your successor. We will again see you in your medical office, taking care of the health of the hearts of your patients, who have been eagerly waiting for your return in Guayaquil. You are returning after having performed your public duty and laid a foundation, which, as an Ecuadorian, I sincerely hope will be nurtured and bear fruit. It would be a great shame if this commendable effort of yours were to go to waste.
4 Dr. Alfredo Palacio
Although I could go on about this accomplishment, which I have merely outlined, I must now focus on the purpose of these preliminary remarks, which I have left for the end. This preface intends to pave the way into a world of another kind, no longer the battlefield of the agitated world in which our democracy toils and struggles, but rather the academic campus imbued by a different atmosphere, where knowledge is imparted, guidance, advice, teachings, suggestions, and forecasts given. It is the book that you, Alfredo, have compiled selecting articles published in the daily press between 1989 and 1994, where you shared knowledge and revealed to your readers your gift as a teacher and guide. Although as a professional you selected a very specialized and important area of medicine, the breadth of your knowledge, as underscored by the many topics your newspaper articles write about, points to a thorough background in the humanities, which has enabled you to address, with both ease and accuracy, a wide range of issues and questions. Dr. Palacio, you have not only been able to teach your students at the University or the National Institute for Cardiology that you founded, you have also generously shared your knowledge in spontaneously written newspaper editorials. It is fortunate that you have compiled an anthology of your principal contributions, which will thus be consolidated and perpetuated in a book. It is truly an honor for my name to be associated with yours, by virtue of the bond there is between the author of the preface and the author of the book itself. And since I know that books endure over time, when this one is read, the person who wrote its introduction, who in this case is someone who truly admires your work, will inevitably be highlighted although he may not deserve it. Dr. Angel Felicísimo Rojas
