You can ride (almost) all dirt if you really wanted to.
Dirt roads in South America usually mean fairly well maintained gravel or hard-packed dirt.
You'll mostly encounter sand on altiplano routes that are not paved. Especially in the northern and southern backtracks of the salt flats of Uyuni.
Mining is extensive in northern Chile and Peru, this means a lot of the minor roads are kept in good condition.
Avoid the rainy seasons and you won't encounter much mud. In Ecuador I met a lot mud, but I ride a lightweight bike so it didn't bother me.
I always got by with deflated MT60's but I used an MT21 in Peru and that was badass.
My road to dirt ratios;
Chile 90/10
Ecuador 80/20
Argentina 80/20
Colombia 70/30
Bolivia 50/50
Peru 20/80
Peru and Bolivia had by far the most 'technical' stuff, but totally avoidable (I actively searched for it)
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