Occupation, Disease, and Death in the City of La Paz, Capital of the Southern District of Baja California (1903–1910)

Abstract

This study is situated within the framework of the public health policies promoted during the administration of Porfirio Díaz, when health was conceived as one of the fundamental pillars for guiding the country toward economic progress and consolidating it as a modern nation. Although the territory examined was not excluded from these initiatives, it faced significant limitations stemming from the scarcity of institutions, medical personnel, and sanitation infrastructure. This situation contributed to the persistence of the miasmatic theory as the dominant explanation for disease at a time when bacteriology was beginning to gain scientific legitimacy at the national level, particularly in the study of illnesses such as tuberculosis. Highly prevalent in the city of La Paz, tuberculosis emerged as the leading cause of death among the working population during the period under study.