Latin American social medicine: roots, development during the 1990s, and current challenges

Abstract

Latin American social medicine arose during the 1950s and 1960s, drawing its inspiration from the social movements that emerged in France, Germany, and England in the mid-19th century. The Latin American movement of social medicine has clear ideological goals. It is organized around the Latin American Association of Social Medicine, which was founded in 1984 and is regarded as a social, political, and academic movement. This article takes a historical perspective and presents the reasons for the emergence and identity of the association, focusing on the main developments and contributions of this movement from the 1990s until the present time.