"This paper analyzes the evolution of social policies in Latin America since the 1980s. It discusses the proposition that a position of hegemony for neoliberalism would have generated a reduction in social intervention by the State. The paper first points to the extreme diversity of Latin American social policies and to the methodological challenges that derive from it. It then underlines the main stages in the evolution of public expenditure aimed at social policies during the neoliberal period. More specifically, three fields are scrutinized: pensions where, paradoxically, the turn from contributory to funded schemes parallels a growing State commitment; health, where a genuine move toward universal coverage is accompanied by growing qualitative divisions; and welfare programs, among them targeted assistance and conditional cash transfers, whose relevance needs to be put in perspective. In conclusion, the paper stresses the trend toward the repoliticization of the field of social policies that has been under way for the past ten years as well as the challenge these represent for the debate over citizenship."