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Cuban doctors head home, leaving Brazilian towns with no healthcare

A Cuban doctor carries Brazilian and Cuban flags as she returns to her home, after criticism by Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro towards Cuban doctors prompted Cuba's government to sever a cooperation agreement, in Brasilia, Brazil November 22, 2018.

The first of thousands of Cuban doctors left Brazil on Thursday after criticism by Brazil’s far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro prompted Cuba’s government to sever a cooperation agreement, leaving millions of Brazilians without medical care.

Bolsonaro said the Cuban doctors were being used as “slave labor” because the Cuban government took 75 percent of their salaries. He said the program that began in 2013 could only continue if they got full pay and were allowed to bring their families from Cuba.

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