Research on distance education in Mexico is still in the embryonic stage, in spite of its long history. One indication is that among the lines of research defined by the Mexican Council on Educational Research, the leading organization in the field in Mexico, distance education does not even appear. Only recently, in the last few years, has an effort been made by educational institutions and professionals interested in doing research in this field, to set up working associations, such as the Distance Education Researchers' Network and Technologies for Learning. This article is a reflection of Mexico's challenges in the field of distance education. The purpose of this article is to establish a perspective for the historical analysis of distance education by proposing categories that coincide with the premises that underlie this mode of education: (a) greater and more equitable coverage; (b) self-reliance and independent learning; and (c) flexibility in adapting to participants' living conditions. From this perspective, there are many approaches for looking at the changes that have taken place in distance education, such as educational policies and their social orientation, distance education models that have been implemented, and the most typical approach, the technological supports on which they are based.