This work discusses the emergence and the function of the compensatory politics in the education reform of the decade of 1990, during Menem government, in Argentina, which is directly related to State reform at that time. The rhetoric of the compensatory politics and equity covered-up one of the main characteristics of Argentinean, and Latin American, social politics and in Latin America had in relation to poverty treatment: focalization. In this way, the compensatory politics applied on education, mainly Education Social Plan, allowed a focused accomplishing to selective expenses, as buildings and distribution of didactic materials to some schools, which tried to harmonize the effects of structural adjustment and to grant legitimacy to education reform that was implemented.
argentine education; education reforms; compensatory politics