Ana María Carrillo

Economía, política y salud pública en el México porfiriano (1876-1910)

The article examines the scientific, political, and economic elements that permitted the birth of modern public health in Mexico under the Porfirio Díaz administration (1876-1910). Firstly, a portion of Mexican physicians were open to the discoveries of microbiology, immunology, and epidemiology. Secondly, the States growing concentration of power in public health matters ran parallel to its concentration of disciplinary political power and enabled this new knowledge to be placed at the service of collective health problem prevention. Lastly, both imperialism and the Porfirian elite needed to protect their business interests. The article evaluates public health achievements and limitations during the Porfirian period, abruptly interrupted by the revolution begun in 1910.

A gripe de longe e de perto: comparações entre as pandemias de 1918 e 2009

In this debate, Latin American historians compare the 1918-1919 flu pandemic with the one sweeping the continent in 2009, focusing especially on the experiences in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. They analyze the strategies adopted on both occasions, above all isolation measures, port and airport surveillance, and urban interventions. Comparisons are drawn between the actions of federal and local governments, positions taken by doctors and the media, and peoples behavior, particularly regarding fear and death. The debaters also analyze the performance of assistance structures, the treatment and prevention measures recommended by public health agencies and private groups with a vested interest in drug sales, and popular and home remedies. The debate extends to how the 1918 experience has influenced the evaluation of todays crisis and what legacy it may leave behind.

From badge of pride to cause of stigma: combatting mal del pinto in Mexico

Mal del pinto is a dermatological disease characterized by discoloured patches of skin on the face and body. It has been present in what is now the territory of Mexico from before the Spanish conquest up to recent times. Though early concerns for mal del pinto as a public health problem can be traced back to the late 19th century, no campaign to combat the disease was undertaken until the second half of the 20th. Thanks to the effectiveness of treatment with penicillin, the fight against this illness--which was once assumed as a symbol of pride--enjoyed a broader acceptance among the population that other health campaigns.

Entre el 'sano temor' y el 'miedo irrazonable': la Campaña Nacional Contra el Cáncer en México

The article examines the first socially organized efforts to fight cancer in Mexico. It analyzes how the National Campaign Against Cancer (Campana Nacional Contra el Cancer), which ran from 1941 to the early 1990s, played a role in the use of cancer treatment and detection services. It also explores the irrational fear of cancer that some healthy people developed and, at the other extreme, the false hopes the sanitary campaign raised among many of the ill, while looking as well at discrimination of these ill and the popular belief that cancer was contagious. Another focus is on efforts by sanitary authorities to collect epidemiological information and the challenges they ran into. Lastly, it analyzes the scope and limitations of the fight against this disease.