Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 04/2010

Child Budget Initiatives in Latin America

Louise Moreira Daniels, Alberto Minujin

January 2010

The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs

Abstract

Children in Latin American (LA) countries were among the most vulnerable groups that suffered from the adjustment policies promoted by the “Washington Consensus” in the 1980s and 1990s. In that context, several organizations started initiatives to ensure and promote resources allocated by public budgets to children and women. This paper describes and analyzes the characteristics and main activities of such initiatives in a dozen LA countries, with in-depth analysis provided for three countries: Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador. A number of lessons are enumerated, which can serve as orientation for other regions, in particular for Africa.