Cuban worker falls from scaffolding of a construction bridge in Tapachula, Mexico.

A Cuban who was working on the construction of a bridge in the city of Tapachula, Mexico, fell from a scaffold from a height of approximately 15 meters and sustained serious injuries that have kept him hospitalized and awaiting surgery for two weeks.

The Cuban, identified as Raicer N., 47 years old, was working on the construction of the elevated bridge on 17th West Street in that city of the state of Chiapas when the accident occurred, on September 11, in which another worker, identified as Víctor N., 38 years old and originally from El Salvador, was also seriously injured, according to local media reports.

When attended by the paramedics from the SAE group, Raicer had a wound in the parietal area of the skull and an exposed fracture in the tibia and fibula, near the ankle, reported the newspaper El Orbe.

"Although he was conscious and oriented, it was necessary to perform a complete packaging and monitor his vital signs before being transferred to the hospital," the newspaper noted in a Facebook post.

The second worker, upon falling, hit his head against the windshield of a vehicle and then the scaffolding fell on him. Both injured individuals were reported by medical services “with a guarded prognosis due to the severity of their injuries.”

According to a comment published two days later by the profile "Quinto Poder de México," from the Mexican newspaper itself, the two injured individuals are migrants, apparently without legal status, like thousands who remain in that city in southern Mexico, which has become the "epicenter of the migration crisis in the border area between Mexico and Guatemala."

For that reason, the site warned, "the emergency services had to take them to the regional hospital, as they allegedly did not have medical insurance."

In a case update, it was reported a few days ago that the Cuban has not yet been operated on because "the regional hospital does not have the necessary materials."

During a telephone interview with "Quinto Poder," Raicer said that he continues to receive medical attention in that public hospital, which he considered good, as "the doctors are attentive to his health condition."

According to the report, "in general, he feels good health-wise and is grateful for the care he has received so far, although he knows it is little." However, he "lamented that he has still not been operated on" for his fractured leg.

The note also highlighted the Cuban's gratitude towards the contractor engineer of the project, who has visited him in the hospital almost daily, and the company he worked for, which "is purchasing all the medications he needs."

However, the journalist inquired about the labor legal process regarding the accident, to which the Cuban responded that he has no one to support him, as he is alone in that border city and is unaware of his labor rights.

"I am in a critical situation, without family, without anything, because I have no one, that's the only thing I can say. The little they can do, they are doing," said Raicer, who is aware that he should receive better medical care but fears that it will stop being provided.

The workplace accident that the Cuban and the Salvadoran suffered brought to light the reality of thousands of immigrants in that region of Mexico, where companies, mainly in the construction sector, exploit the cheap labor of people from various nationalities who arrive in Mexican territory.

"The reality is that because it is cheap labor, without so many commitments, there are many construction companies that take advantage of these people's need for work. They exploit them, subject them to long workdays for a meager salary, and worse still, they do not have any social security," stated "Quinto Poder de México."

In September 2023, Yadier Artiles Ravelo, a Cuban recently arrived in Tapachula, also suffered a serious work accident when he was struck by high-voltage cables that threw him from the height where he was, causing severe injuries to his spine.

Gerardo Oscar Fernández Rivery, a 66-year-old Cuban engineer, lost his life last February after falling from the fourth floor of a construction site in the Dominican Republic.

In July, Isnaldo Díaz, a native of Camagüey and father of three minor children, died in the United States after being electrocuted while working.