1 Executive Director, American Academy of Pediatrics, Evanston, Illinois
The Joint Pediatric Congress of the National Confederation of Pediatrics in Mexico and of the Mexican Association of Pediatrics, held April 28 through May 4, 1980, provided an unusual opportunity to review the dramatic changes that have been implemented in the past few years in the health care system of Mexico. A social security system, embodying health and welfare services and retirement benefits, became law in Mexico in 1943. In addition to supporting community welfare services, it has struggled to develop a format and resources for delivery of health care to the masses of Mexicans, including the poor or those too isolated from urban centers to have any effective access to the benefits of modern health technology.