In Argentina from 2002 to 2009 the number of children in early education (45 days to 5 years) in Buenos Aires remained constant, even though there had been a steady increase in the number of children applying for early education. As a result, thousands of children were unable to participate in early education in public schools. Between 2002 and 2006, the number of excluded children increased by 37 percent. In 2006, 6,047 children were left out; by 2008 that number had risen to almost 8,000.

This increasing exclusion did not affect all children equally. Children living in the six poorest districts of the city were disproportionally affected; they accounted for more than half of all excluded children. In comparison, less than 15 percent of the excluded children lived in affluent districts.

In 2006, the Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia (Civil Association for Equality and Justice, ACIJ) filed ACIJ filed a class action lawsuit against the government of Buenos Aires. It claimed that from 2002 to 2006 the government had not fulfilled the guarantee of early education and had violated its obligation of non-discrimination. ACIJ showed that:

• There was a consistent pattern of children being denied access to early education because of insufficient space in schools. While this situation affected the whole city, it was much worse in the poorer districts.
• The government consistently underspent budget resources that had been allocated to improve school infrastructure and maintenance. These resources could have been used to build more schools or classrooms and thus open space for more students.

For further information, see International Budget Partnership (2014) Article 2 & Government Budgets: Discriminatory allocations and expenditures on the basis of socio-economic status.