A subset of climate simulations of the 20th century from the IPCC-AR4 is analyzed to assess the ability of these models to reproduce the observed climatological seasonal precipitation in South America during the period 1970--1999. Changes of the model climatology in a climate change scenario (SRESA1b) for the period 2070--2099 are also discussed. Results show that models are able to reproduce the main features of the precipitation seasonal cycle over South America, although the precipitation in the SACZ region and the precipitation maximum over southeastern South America observed during the cold season are not well- represented. There is a general consensus among models that the precipitation changes projected are mainly: i) an increase of summer precipitation over southeastern subtropical South America; ii) a reduction of winter precipitation over most of the continent; and iii) reduction of precipitation in all seasons along the southern Andes.