The objective of this article is to describe the most significant changes which are being carried out in Latin-American educational systems, taking Argentina as a point of reference. To that end, this comparative study tackles the following essential aspects: the principle of equal opportunities and social cohesion; decentralisation of educational systems at an institutional level; educational quality and equity problems; the career of teaching; and financial resources. The reforms carried out at university level have not been analysed, since their complexity exceeds the limits of this article. To conclude, we briefly mention the future goals which have been agreed by those responsible for education in diverse Latin-American countries.