Mexico City’s government offers a notable social program: Staring Dec 2008 the government offers Viagra, Levitra or Cialis – medication used to treat erectile dysfunction – under adequate medical supervision. This offer is available to low income men age 60 and over. The government cited figures saying that 70 percent of elderly men suffer from erectile dysfunction.
In announcing the erectile dysfunction program in November, Mr. Ebrard, 49, portrayed it as a way of bringing smiles to the faces of those who have reached the tercera edad, or third age, as Mexicans call the golden years.
“Everyone has the right to be happy,” the mayor said, noting that many of the poorest elderly people do not qualify for employer-based health plans and have been abandoned by their families. “They don’t have medical services, and a society that doesn’t care for its senior citizens has no dignity.” (source)
Not everyone agrees with this program, some for financial reasons, some as they feel the Mexican government should prioritize other matters and various other reasons….
One of Mr. Ebrard’s rivals for the presidency, Fidel Herrera, 59, the governor of Veracruz State dismissed the Viagra handouts as ridiculous. “What’s the point of encouraging old people to have sex?” he asked in a recent interview. “There’s such a thing as nature. You can’t play God.”(source)