Mental health and neoliberalism in Baja California sur: the Psychiatric Hospital of Chametla (1990-2019)

Abstract

The article presents the institutional history of the first psychiatric hospital in Baja California Sur. Beyond the temporal proximity of the Chametla Psychi­atric Hospital, the text offers a historical narrative that involves past aspects related to various neoliberal policies, including programmes and government employees no longer in the public sector. It explores the inauguration and opening of the hospital, as well as its daily operations through documentary evidence available in state archives. The transition from the 20th to the 21st century, from a welfare state model to a neoliberal one, did not have as much impact as changes in government structures and political parties. The history of the Chametla Psychiatric Hospital is one of resilience, where natural phe­nomena, such as hurricanes, had a greater influence on its fate than political power and society.