[Public health and power in Mexico during Cardenism: 1934-1940].

Historians have identified three stages in the government of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940): consolidation of the power of Cárdenas; a nationalist and reformist policy (including agrarian reform and nationalisation of the railway system and oil industry); and withdrawal of the reforms due to the reaction of conservative sectors and imperialist countries. This article attempts to reveal the impact of each stage on the Mexican public health system and to demonstrate that the first systematic attempt to establish permanent rural health units was developed during this period.