An historical analysis of Brazil’s policies in Primary Healthcare, with emphasis on the Family Health Strategy (FHS), and the Mais Médicos Program (PMM). Studies were made of documents and secondary official data, and the bibliography that has been produced on this theme.It was found that primary healthcare has been established and successfully consolidated as an option in healthcare for a great part of the population of Brazil. There have, however, been structural hurdles, which have tended to compromise the effectiveness and sustainability of this policy. It was identified that these obstacles arise principally from insufficient financing and from inefficient modes of planning and management. The Mais Médicos Program has widened care coverage and made the distribution of primary healthcare doctors more equitable, although it has not resolved the structural problems of the public system. © 2016, Associacao Brasileira de Pos - Graduacao em Saude Coletiva. All rights reserved.21926552663