The Woodrow Wilson Center Press
Cold War, Deadly Fevers: Malaria Eradication in Mexico, 1955-1975
In the mid-1950s, with planning and funding from the United States, Mexico embarked on an ambitious campaign to eradicate malaria, which was widespread and persistent. This new history explores the politics of that campaign. Marcos Cueto describes the international basis of the program, its national organization in Mexico, its local implementation by health practitioners and workers, and its reception among the population. Drawing on archives in the United States, Mexico, and Switzerland, he highlights the militant Cold War rhetoric of the founders and analyzes the mixed motives of participants at all levels. Following the story through the dwindling campaign in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Cueto raises questions relevant to today's international health campaigns against malaria, AIDS, and tuberculosis.
What People are Saying
"Dr. Cueto's excellent and well-informed exploration of malaria—not merely as a disease but as a social, economic and human problem—makes this book required reading."—Filiberto Malagón, Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine (June 2008)
"This work is very important. It is the first scholarly and book-length study of malaria eradication in Latin America how actually played out on the ground and how they were framed by Cold War ideologies and imperatives."— Alexandra Stern, Center for the History of Medicine, and Medical School, University of Michigan
Chapter List
Tables and Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources
1 Introduction: The Burden of an Infection
2 Global Designs
3 National Decisions
4 Local Responses
5 Conclusions: The Return of Malaria and the Culture of Survival
Notes
Bibliography
Index