Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the association between farmers' socioeconomic conditions and their children's health in La Fraylesca, Chiapas. Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey of 1046 households (5546 individuals) sampled from locations in two counties situated in the study area. The survey included anthropometric measurements, a 24-hour dietary recall, stool tests, and childhood mortality data. Children of private farmers and "wealthy peasants" displayed better nutritional status, higher quality diet, lower prevalence of intestinal parasites, and a lower risk of dying than those whose parents were communal farmers, from ejidos, or "poor peasants". The results suggest that using volume of maize production as a classification method proved more valuable than land tenure to identify agricultural groups with different health status. It appears that the main determinants of health differentials are structural inequities in resource distribution. Thus, the impact of medical interventions on inequalities will be limited unless they are accompanied by redistribution of resources.
Highlights
The Zapatista rebellion beginning on the first day of January 1994 awakened Mexico to the neo-liberal policies of globalization of capital, the weakened role of the state, and the privatization and concentration of industries, formally initiated that same day under the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta)
While previous health studies have concentrated primarily on the comparison of urban and rural areas, this study focuses exclusively on rural areas from a region in the State of Chiapas (La Fraylesca), where we examine the contrast in health and nutritional status amongst children of various agricultural groups under different socioeconomic conditions
The results of this study provide evidence of inequalities in the health and nutritional status of preschool children from different agricultural groups living in the two municipios under study in the rural areas of La Fraylesca, Chiapas
Summary
The Zapatista rebellion beginning on the first day of January 1994 awakened Mexico to the neo-liberal policies of globalization of capital, the weakened role of the state, and the privatization and concentration of industries, formally initiated that same day under the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). It was no accident that the rebellion began in the State of Chiapas, where peasants in rural areas exhibit the sharpest contrasts in living standards and health conditions (SánchezPérez et al, 1995). Between and within each sector there are many inconsistencies in quality: between urban and rural areas; by the various public clinics and hospitals organized for blue- and white-collar workers, campesinos, and the uninsured; and between the Mexico City metropolis and the rest of the country. In 1995 Chiapas had the lowest number of available hospital beds and medical consultations in Mexico (by general practitioners and specialists), was the second lowest in the number of clinical tests and X-rays per inhabitant, and was the third lowest in the percentage of attended births per 1000 fertile women (SSA, 1995), while fewer than 60% of the population had access to basic medical services (SSA, 1992). In 1995 one out of two Mexicans were covered by social security benefits, while only one out of five inhabitants were covered in Chiapas (SSA, 1995)
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