[The shaping of the Argentina health system: the case of Cordoba province, 1917-1926].

This article describes the construction of the health system in Cordoba province between the end of the 19th century and the second half of the 1920s, placing particular emphasis in the national institutions and private charity associations created during this period. The hypothesis of this article is that the Cordoba health system was developed from the initiative of private charity associations and at the level of the nation or municipality, whereas the provincial state had a limited role. These developments occurred despite the hegemony of a liberal discourse that reinforced the role of the state as the main agent in public health care.