This article presents a regional analysis of educational inequalities in Latin America, drawing on a variety of sources at the national and cross-national levels. It traces how inequalities in education tend to manifest themselves and which population groups tend to be the most affected. The persistence of inequalities is a curious social phenomenon that operates between the interstices of the political promise and pervasive social acceptance that schooling serves to promote social mobility, and the tangible evidence that there are serious gaps in the schooling of the poor, rural children, ethnic minorities, and women. The analysis of Latin America is particularly illustrative because it suggests that educational systems may grow more unequal over time, especially as private schools function as outlets for those seeking to escape the poor quality of public schools and as global norms disseminate the idea of education as simply another tradeable commodity. (Contains 4 tables and 8 notes.)