New Philanthropy and Education Governance in Argentina and Brazil: ‘Giving’ from Inequities

Portrayed as a contributor to safeguarding social justice and the right to education (UNESCO, 2021), philanthropy emerges not only as a funder, but also as a political and technical authority. However, it entails inherent tensions between its capacity to leverage education policy and its dependence on inequities. Philanthropy in education has gained further legitimacy in recent years across the region amid pressing educational challenges (Srivastava et al., 2021), while Latin America remains among the most unequal regions in the world (Chancel et al., 2022). This research examines philanthropic governance and ethical tensions as part of a broader interest in understanding how education policy may work as a fertile space to influx claims legitimating elites’ participation in public policy in societies with deep structural inequities.