Numerous factors influencing health status and health care in Mexico are reviewed in this paper. Part I covers socioeconomic influences including agricultural and land tenure patterns, oil production, population growth rate, and the extent of poverty. Part II discusses the political environment, emphasizing the effects of politics on strategies for rural health. Topics include the political elite and their influence, dependency on the United States, pressure groups of the political left and right, and attempts at governmental reform. Part III compares Mexican health needs with those of other developing nations. Discussion touches on developmental stages of health system development, historical diffusion of western health care models, and characteristics of rural underdeveloped areas in developing nations. Numerous health care problems are cited, e.g., limited access to care, lack of public health policy, class bias in health services, expenditures for high technology rather than public health, and maldistribution of human resources due to maldistribution of wealth. Part IV summarizes the status of health care in Mexico including health indicators, health care delivery systems, rural conditions, vertical organizations and health campaigns, health decisions as broad cultural expressions, and women and showmen in medicine. (JHZ)