The Rockefeller Foundation in Mexico: Nationalism, public health and yellow fever (1911-1924

The focus of this thesis is an examination of the process by which the Rockefeller Foundation penetrated the political, social, and cultural institutions of Mexico.;To analyze the process, I looked at the nonofficial diplomatic activities of the Foundation during the 1911-1920 period, and the implementation of the yellow fever campaign (1920-1924). The economic and political conditions of Mexico and the United States suggest the conclusion that capitalist interests of the U.S. were the primary motive that prompted the Rockefeller Foundation to develop public health programs in the neighbor country.;The relations of the Mexican State and the Rockefeller Foundation represents an important clue to understanding the formation of the Mexican State. Without the financial support of the Rockefeller Foundation the Mexican State would never have been capable of developing public health programs promised to its citizens since the Revolution of 1910.;A third factor considered is the transformation of the Mexican health care system under the influence of the Rockefeller Foundation. Finally, I looked at the effects of the yellow fever campaign for the population. The consequences were of a different and more complex nature. Though the Foundation claimed the yellow fever campaign diminished the mortality and morbidity conditions in Mexico, it is also accurate to claim the Foundation transformed the anti-U.S. sentiments of the people into more positive attitudes toward the economic and cultural presence of the United States in Mexico.