And to me who cures me? The healthcare actors in the north of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México

Abstract

The area where this study was carried on in 2009, presents extreme marginalization amongst displaced populations; which is reflected in the prevalent poor health conditions of its inhabitants. The research was aimed at exploring through participant observation and in depth interviews, the profile of those persons in charge of healing local people. The findings show, that cultural views and practices of these people population give place to the emergence of new healthcare actors, different from traditional indigenous healers. It could be also observed that local people tend to seek for treatment of non complicated ailments inside of their own neighborhood but they use to go beyond this context when a more complicated illness is the matter. These findings suggest that the relevance of these alternative options of health care in marginalized areas, must be bore in mind by official health institutions and thereby to assume a plural view on health, enabling them to interact with these other healthcare actors.