Understanding Social Policy-Making: The Origins of Mexican Social Security Policy

Despite considerable theoretical gains in our understanding of the origins of modern social insurance programs in industrialized countries, relatively few studies of such programs in Latin America directly address or challenge the theoretical approaches used in the European and North American contexts. This paper contributes to our understanding of the origins of the welfare state in Latin America through a detailed study of the origins of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in 1943. The existing explanation of the creation of the IMSS emphasizes the importance of socio-economic development, international diffusion, and above all, the “relatively independent and entrepreneurial role played by the state.” In contrast to this explanation, this paper argues that the adoption and implementation of social insurance in Mexico can be explained as the product of the shifting class coalitions and the need for the regime to maintain the support of the organized working class. Prepared for delivery at the 2000 Meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, Hyatt Regency Miami, March 16-18, 2000.