This article provides a historical overview of social housing policy in Mexico during the period from 1940 to 1999. Through the study of the first housing programs and two of the main housing institutions —Infonavit and Fovi—, it demonstrates how adaptations to the implementation of the policy reflect the interests of the business sector in housing construction, rather than meeting the population’s needs. It also shows the impact of the guidelines of the multilateral organizations which, during the 1990s, were expressed in financial deregulation and the privatization of ejido lands. These arrangements enable the consolidation of housing development groups whose intervention expands the periphery of Mexican cities by buying up large expanses of land and building enormous housing complexes.