Since the mid-nineties, an extension of social policies was deployed in Latin America. Although part of the literature attributes such extension to left-wing governments, both centre-right and right-wing goverments also had a contribution. This paper aims at opening up the debate on Latin American right wing social policies. The goa is to discuss the possible reasons for the extension of social policies as well as to suggest an analytical framework that emphasizes topics such as the relevance of electoral competition, the strategic adaptation of political parties or the cost-benefit assessment of maintaining or expanding social policies.