The article treats the relationship between the public and private sectors in five national systems of higher education: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. In each country there are very specific dynamics in the public/private relationship and their respective higher education systems. In contrast with Brazil where the expansion of the private sector began the mid 60s and contracted during the 80s, in the other countries the absolute and relative growth of enrollments in the private sector, in addition to being more recent, still shows no signs of exhaustion. Differences in timing in the expansion of the private sector in the five countries invite relevant questions about the opportunity for opening up higher education to the market and about the relationship with the State with the respective national systems. These issues doubtlessly are central in the contemporary debate on higher education in Latin America.
