Community care in Argentina in times of Covid-19: pre-existing practices and emerging responses

Abstract

Introduction. The COVID -19 pandemic has increased pre-existing inequalities and has generated new ones, at the same time that it deepened and made visible the “crisis of care” that so far characterized our contemporary societies in a more or less veiled way. Within the broad spectrum of transformations and inequalities that the pandemic produced, this article will focus on community care in Argentina. Objectives. to explore, on the one hand, how various practices deployed made it possible to carry out prevention and containment activities in community spaces from a gender “sensitive” perspective. On the other hand, to describe the intense and complex collaborative work carried out by women with the government and its agents based on the new policies and implemented actions, not only on public health but also linked to the social protection of a significant number of people that saw their living conditions deeply deteriorated. Methodology. Fieldwork information carried out on community care is systematized and the focus is placed on two dimensions that are considered key on the current context. This has been completed with primary and secondary sources available for the period 2020-2021. Results and Contribution. The relational work carried out by women in the neighborhoods is central to the deployment of public policies at the territorial level. This study contributes to making visible the practices and strategies that women mostly deploy in community spaces during the pandemic.