In his influential work, Historia del trabajo social en México (2001, Plaza y Valdés), Elí Evangelista Martínez
offers a critical analysis of how the profession emerged not as a linear evolution of charity, but as a distinct construction of modernity.
The following paper explores his thesis, which frames Social Work as a practice deeply intertwined with the development of the Mexican State and its social policies.
The Evolution of Social Action in Mexico: An Analysis of Eli Evangelista’s Thesis 1. Beyond Charity: The Modern Construction of Social Work In his influential work, Historia del trabajo social
Evangelista challenges the traditional narrative that Social Work is merely a technical upgrade of religious charity or philanthropy. Instead, he argues it is a category of historical modernity. This shift occurs when "social problems" are no longer seen as individual failures but as conceptual constructions requiring specialized state intervention. The author emphasizes that the profession’s identity is shaped by the interplay of political power, the development of social sciences, and the institutionalization of public assistance. 2. Historical Periods of Social Action (1521–1993)
Evangelista divides the history of social action in Mexico into four pivotal eras to trace the profession's roots and institutionalization:
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One of the central narratives of the book is the transition from "Beneficence" (charity) to "Social Action" and finally to professional Social Work. Ramírez dissects how the Catholic tradition of charity in the 19th century was eventually supplanted by a secular, state-led approach to social problems in the early 20th century. She argues that the professionalization of Social Work was not an isolated event but a requirement of a modernizing state that needed technical solutions to social marginalization.
In the vast landscape of social work literature, few works manage to bridge the gap between a local, national narrative and the broader Latin American context as effectively as the 2001 publication Historia del Trabajo Social by Eli Evangelista Ramírez. Published by the prestigious Mexico City-based editorial house Plaza y Valdés, this book remains a cornerstone text for students, historians, and practitioners of social work in the Spanish-speaking world. Two decades after its release, its utility as a "fixed" (in the sense of established and reliable) history is unquestionable.
This article explores the book’s origins, its core historical arguments, its unique pedagogical structure, and its lasting impact on the profession in Mexico.
In academic writing, the word "fixed" refers to a stable version of a text. Many copies of Historia del Trabajo Social have circulated as loose photocopies, incomplete PDFs, or later reprints with altered pagination. The ed plaza y valdes mexico 2001 version is considered the authoritative, fixed edition for the following reasons:
The historia del trabajo social eli evangelista ramirez ed plaza y valdes mexico 2001 volume is structured to guide the reader from pre-professional charity to fully developed social work theory. Below is a breakdown of its main sections: