This paper analyzes some of the philosophical fundamentals of the concept of equity, incorporated by multilateral agencies, including CEPAL, as intellectual platform for State intervention and the design of social policies. CEPAL, in 1990, published a report with a diagnosis and a set of proposals designed to guide governments in the region to establish a new pattern of development in Latin America. This text formed the basis for the preparation of documents for social sectors like health and education. In all of them the concept of equity is widely mentioned as a principle for State action in the context of social policies and to reduce inequalities in the region. This resulted in a pattern of public policies in which equity appears as a central category, hence the interest in studying its fundamentals.
Equity; Health planning guidelines; CEPAL; Theory of justice; Social policies