Contemporary focus on social policy in Mexico

This article discusses the signifcance and reach of concepts\ua0such as Welfare State, Welfare Regime, social protection\ua0systems, social risk management and basic universalism. It\ua0is argued that trends in social policy, beyond the influenceof government programs, or purely technical factors, are\ua0related to other kinds of arrangements within society and\ua0its political processes in order to provide welfare. Specifically,\ua0political directions and trasitions are traced in Mexicansociety from the 1940’s, when the welfare institutions\ua0were created, and the “corporatist pact” was enforced, until\ua0the neo-liberal approaches in vogue since the 1980’s, when\ua0structural adjustments were introduced, and more recentlythe universalization of basic social services. The intention is\ua0not to focus on specific actions or in the impact of transformations,\ua0but on the implications entailed by focusing on a particular approach in the field of social policy