It’s my understanding from reading the Council on Medical Education’s Fifth Pathway report that it was a unilateral US initiative to resolve the extra year issue.

IHMO Mexico is in a better position to solve this issue and should. They’ve been loosing millions in revenue to Caribbean schools, the report states that in the mid-1970s about 4000 to 6000 U.S. citizens were studying medicine outside the U.S. most of them in Mexico, how many now? In addition to the money they’ve also lost out on the benefits that the Mexican community in the U.S. gains from having more U.S. doctor trained in Mexico.

I’ve done some research on the origin of the social service in medicine in Mexico and its roots aren’t only based on a social initiative but nationalist as well. Evident in the speech that Dr. Gustavo Baz Prada commenced to the first group of graduates to take part
1936,

“Tienen ustedes ya seis años de estudio. Lo normal seria que dentro de unos meses recibieran su titulo. En lugar de eso, he venido aquí a pedirles que presten patrióticamente a uno de los experimentos mas singulares que habrá de registrarla historia de la Medicina”

No mater how noble the practice maybe Mexicans shouldn’t expects foreigners to take part in something that has some form oath to Mexico. I’m sure Mexico wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing that Mexicans studying in other countries were asked to take part in something that had nationalist roots. In some countries this kind of programs are alterative to military service.