We study the role of the State in education through the most significant government periods in Argentina in the last 50 years. We use a sociocultural approach, contemplating the historical development of educational policies in the country, exploring conceptual frameworks applicable in the investigation of the State, privatization and decentralization in education. We analyze how certain models of government establish the cultural reproduction of inequality in education, contextualizing the role of the State as a possible promoter of hegemonic educational projects of hybrid models of globalization. We discuss the multifaceted role of the State in education and society, as well as in the educational institutions themselves and their actors, considering education as a fundamental right, which must be guaranteed by the State. Through the analysis of political, economic and social contexts we expose negative impacts on education during the exercise of neoliberal practices, which resort to privatization and state decentralization. In contrast, the use of socio-educational policies has contributed greatly to the improvement of the country's public education system. The results of this case study are then presented as a general notion regarding the global issue of inequality in education, in order to help rethink the future of education.