Transformaciones de la Secretaría de Salud en México en el contexto de la Reforma Sanitaria

Abstract

Major changes occurred over the last twenty years in the Health Ministry in Mexico are presented and analyzed here. Most relevant identified changes were: (1) changes occurred at the ministry were similar to the proposals of the World Bank and other international financial agencies; (2) the functions of the ministry are now focussing in regulation and normativity and less in the provision of health services; (3) the services still provided by the ministry are more restricted in terms of selectivity as well as in terms of the actions included (focalisation); (4) the health services have been decentralized to the states; (5) the ministry’s budget has been reduced in order to maintain a fiscal balance; (6) these reforms have been legitimated by a trade union controlled from the same ministry. The authors sustain that transformations obbey to neoliberal international policies. These consider health a private good which obbey to the market forces and that the State should provide health services just to those who can’t buy them. Furthermore, the last governments give priority to financial issues instead of other existing health problems.