A voyage to Argentina: the Asuero case and the illegal practice of medicine (Buenos Aires, 1930)

Abstract

This article examines the activities of a well-known figure who, during his stay in Argentina, influenced life in Buenos Aires by cultivating his connections to medical science, the political sphere and the news media. The person in question was Fernando Asuero, an ear, nose and throat specialist from San Sebastián (Spain), whose activities in Buenos Aires in 1930 allow us to examine the conflicts within the healing arts, a field rife with competitors and numerous concurrent and opposing traditions. Using a biographical approach centered on a case study, this article shows that, at certain points, the disputes over cognitive monopoly ended up being debated within a courtroom.