The Homeless and Public Assistance a Survival Strategy in Mexico Cuty, 1877-1905

This work is about a social grupo scarcely studied in Mexican historiography: the urban poor. Its viewpoint is also original, for the homeless are not only the object of institutions and public policies, but become social actors defining reforms and practices within Porfirian assistance policies. Al...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Lorenzo Río, María Dolores
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:México
Institución:EL COLEGIO DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Historia Mexicana
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:oai.historiamexicana.colmex.mx:article/204
Acceso en línea:https://historiamexicana.colmex.mx/index.php/RHM/article/view/204
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mexico city
poverty
beneficence
19th Century
ciudad de México
pobreza
beneficiencia
siglo XIX
Descripción
Sumario:This work is about a social grupo scarcely studied in Mexican historiography: the urban poor. Its viewpoint is also original, for the homeless are not only the object of institutions and public policies, but become social actors defining reforms and practices within Porfirian assistance policies. Although charity resources were scarce, being admitted into a public assistance institution became an option for survival among the city's homeless. Their insistence on being admitted into the Tecpam de Santiago and the Hospcio de Pobres can be seen in their applications, presenting themselves as worthy of charity. Public assistance is demanded and defended both through hidden claims and straightforward statements, for through its regularity, State charity becomes a means of survival.