New Public Management in México: Implementation and disappearance of the Seguro Popular institution

Abstract

This research aims to examine the operation of the defunct Mexican public health institution known as Seguro Popular, which operated from 2003 to 2019. This system was based on the following principles of New Public Management (NGP): systematization, decentralization, professionalization and orientation to results. These principles constituted the analysis dimensions of the research, which also aimed to recognize the fulfillment of goals, the errors and the consequences of their disappearance in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study had a qualitative method in which the techniques of document analysis, ethnography and interviews with first-level officials were used. It is concluded that Seguro Popular was an institution that fulfilled several of its tangible objectives in terms of the variables that were studied, but at the same time it also left a pending balance in terms of accountability.