Latin American critical medical anthropology (LA-CMA) is a product ofits context. Social histories of inequality, ethnocide, racism and internaland external colonialism, aggravated by a spate of dictatorships interspersed by foreign military interventions, civil war and rebellion, havemarked Latin America and its academic production as deeply as its richlydiverse cultural and ethnic landscape. When universities took on a centralsocial role during the decades of economic development in the 1940s–60s, academic voices began generating critical commentary regardingthe human fallout of economic, political and social processes. Anthropological and sociological works that documented similar and contrasting social patterns in Central America, Mexico, the southern cone andAndean regions contributed to critical debates drawing on Marxist andGramscian thought, dependency theories and Soviet-era communism,while Catholic liberation theology and indigenous epistemologies addedideological and ideational perspectives to interpretations of history,development, culture and wellbeing.The editors sought to create a volume that included a significantnumber of authors whose work has rarely or never been published inEnglish, with an implicit focus on both the ethnographic context and thegeneration or reinterpretation of Latin American critical theory. The bookprovides a showcase for cutting-edge ethnographically informed anthropological research focused on and informed by Latin American social andhistorical contexts, including original theoretical contributions. The collection includes work spanning four regions in Latin America (Mexico,INTRODUCTION 3Brazil, Guatemala and Peru) as well as the trans-migratory contexts theyconnect and are defined by. It draws on research that is focused on diversesocial practices and contexts pertaining to health, including reproduction, sex work, rare and chronic diseases and the use of pharmaceuticals.In doing so it addresses themes of central relevance to medical anthropology and global health, such as agency, identity, reproductive politics,indigenous health and human rights. Given the wealth of research beingundertaken in Latin America and given its specific history of engagementwith critical theory, there is an urgent need to provide wider access tothis expertise for an English-speaking audience who can engage in dialogue with, and learn from, anthropological work being undertaken inthe region.Several of the chapters were co-authored by Latin American andEuropean or North American scholars, providing a double perspectivethat adds value to this collaborative endeavour. The final product, wehope, explores the hugely valuable contribution that LA-CMA can play inunderstanding, explaining and potentially addressing some of the mostpressing health concerns facing our globalised world today.