This paper discusses a series of innovations that took place in the field of social protection in the “global South”. It uses a broad definition of social protection in order to identify the different experiences of expansion and adaptation of the social protection systems, particularly, as a response to the financial crisis. Such approach aims at identifying the main features of these processes. It highlights the construction of integrated social protection systems with special emphasis on the productive inclusion of the beneficiaries of social programs with a view to increase their access to economic opportunities.