In this study we use recently available panel datasets from Chile and Nicaragua to compare earnings mobility over a decade for two Latin American economies with completely opposite performance in the region. We first measure earnings mobility using transitions mobility matrices and additionally, we propose a methodology that consists in analyzing the determinants of changes in ranking (based on earnings) for each country-year distribution, \ncontrolling for characteristics of the worker and characteristics of the labor market. Our results suggest that earnings mobility in Chile and Nicaragua follow different patterns, which is explained for differences in some individuals and institutional mechanisms that are particularly important for policy actions.