[The Mexican School of Public Health: its founding and first years: 1922-1945]

This article analyzes the foundation of the Public Health School of Mexico, which first opened its doors in March 1922. It presents the different circumstances which obliged the sanitary authorities to create and promote the School, based on the historic and educational context of the time. The struggle for disease eradication and the promotion of a culture of prevention among the Mexican population of the time made it necessary to train sanitarians who would contribute to the National Reconstruction period. This trend continued until 1945, when social medicine started to be considered as a flag of action in the field of disease prevention, which promoted actions and policies focused on the rural communities of Mexico.