TOWARDS... SCIENTIFIC HUMANISM

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 arti- cle 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.