Marriage of Convenience

In January 1921, after a decade of bloody warfare, Mexico's new government found an unlikely partner in its struggle to fulfill the Revolution's promises to the populace. An ambitious philanthropy, born of the wealth of America's most notorious capitalist, made its way into Mexico by offering money and expertise to counter a looming public health crisis. Why did the Rockefeller Foundation and Revolutionary Mexico get together, and how did their relationship last for 30-plus years...
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In January 1921, after a decade of bloody warfare, Mexico's new government found an unlikely partner in its struggle to fulfill the Revolution's promises to the populace. An ambitious philanthropy, born of the wealth of America's most notorious capitalist, made its way into Mexico by offering money and expertise to counter a looming public health crisis. Why did the Rockefeller Foundation and Revolutionary Mexico get together, and how did their relationship last for 30-plus years amidst binational tensions, domestic turmoil, and institutional soul-searching? Transcending standard hagiographic accounts as well as simplistic arguments of cultural imperialism, 'Marriage of Convenience' offers a nuanced analysis of the interaction between the Foundation's International Health Division and Mexico's Departamento de Salubridad Publica as they jointly promoted public health through campaigns against yellow fever and hookworm disease, organized cooperative rural health units, and educated public health professionals in North American universities and Mexican training stations. Drawing from a wealth of archival sources in both Mexico and the United States, Birn uncovers the complex give-and-take of this early experience of international health cooperation. Though it was far from love at first sight, Mexico and the Rockefeller Foundation managed to live with one another through moments of productive cooperation, borrowings back and forth, mutual disdain, outright hostility, and bona fide accomplishments that shaped the development of public health ideologies, practices, and institutions. In tracing the challenges of health cooperation between the Rockefeller Foundation and Revolutionary Mexico, Birn provides historical insights into the policies, paradigms, and practices of the global health field today. Anne-Emanuelle Birn is Canada Research Chair in International Health at the University of Toronto."