In the highlands of the Andes, the dense Amazon jungle, and the dry sierras of Mexico, a quiet revolution in healthcare continues to thrive. Rooted in pre-Columbian wisdom and shaped by centuries of resistance, Latin America’s tradition of herbal medicine—known widely as medicina verde—remains a vital part of community life.

Despite the spread of industrial pharmaceuticals, millions across the region still turn to local healers, curanderos and yerberos, who rely on plants like uña de gato, ruda, and epazote to treat everything from inflammation to anxiety. Their knowledge, passed orally through generations, is often dismissed by official health systems but continues to provide affordable and culturally resonant care to the rural and urban poor alike.

In countries like Bolivia and Peru, governments have begun integrating traditional medicine into public health policy, recognizing both its efficacy and its role in preserving Indigenous identity. In Cuba, the economic blockade has fueled state support for herbal alternatives, with the Ministry of Public Health distributing tinctures and teas made from locally grown plants.

But this legacy faces threats. Commercial exploitation, biopiracy, and deforestation endanger both the environment and the knowledge keepers. “We’re not just protecting plants, we’re defending a worldview,” says María Luz, a Mapuche healer from Chile’s Araucanía region.

As debates on decolonizing healthcare grow louder, Latin America’s medicina verde offers a living example of how healing can be local, collective, and grounded in a deep respect for the Earth.

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