Community-based mobilizations against the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened social inequalities that, perceived through (post/de)coloniality perspectives, historically affect part of the populations of Latin America. For the social groups that live in territories known as Favelas in Rio de Janeiro and Comunas in Medellín, it was necessary to keep moving to ensure economic survival, although it meant greater exposure to the disease. Between 2020 and 2022, local groups in these urban “margins” self-organized into initiatives to mitigate the risks of the pandemic.

Based on a multi-sited and participatory qualitative approach, the present socio-ethnographic research follows some specific community-based networks developed in these territories during the pandemic disruptions. During this presentation, presenters will discuss the hypothesis that in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Medellín, urban resistance networks previously constituted against the historical State violence were reorganized in a repertoire to avoid the virus circulation and ensure the right to life.

For this debate, PhD student, Apoena Mano will highlight the creative development of political imaginations and leadership that are not necessarily connected to the institutional political sphere. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these social agents resettled their possible networks to perform collective politics by bringing together many dimensions of ideas, resources and strategies to support their communities.