Mapping repertoires of collective action facing the COVID-19 pandemic in informal settlements in Latin American cities

Abstract

How are civil society organizations responding to COVID-19’s impacts on informal settlements? In Latin America, civil society organizations have developed a repertoire of collective action, seeking to provide immediate and medium-term responses to the emergency. This paper aims to map these initiatives and identify strategic approaches to tackle the issues, given the strengths of those undertaking the initiative, and the scope, purpose and sphere of intervention. Using direct contact, a survey, and a virtual ethnography with social organizations has allowed us to identify and characterize the initiatives. The repertoire focuses on emergency measures around food security, and pedagogies for prevention, sanitation and income relief at the neighbourhood and district levels. We argue that the civil society response repertoire is diverse in form and resources but limited in scope; meanwhile the urgency of the situation and the mismatch with state action mean that crucial spheres of informality, vital to cultivating grounds for a healthy recovery phase, are being neglected.

COVID-19, community response, public policy, and travel patterns: A tale of Hong Kong

“…The results demonstrate that community cooperation is more effective for leveraging human capital and technology to meet victims’ needs of transportation and logistics, equipment, food and water, medicine, and other necessities. Duque Franco et al (2020) suggested that grassroots initiatives are vital in providing immediate responses to emergencies in temporary settlements, including transport, mobility, food, and water; however, the long-term deployment of materials and services in the recovery phase requires the coordination of public authorities. Odendaal (2020) discussed the co-existence of governmental and public responses in South Africa, which they suggested could be attributed to safety concerns, system and infrastructure failure, and poor well-being of the community.…”

The pathogen paradox: Evidence that perceived COVID-19 threat is associated with both pro- and anti-immigrant attitudes

“…In the US, for instance, non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures were more likely to occur in areas with higher cultural emphasis on individual freedom (Bazzi et al, 2020). In addition to symbolic threats to freedom and individualistic values, other protests emerged as a consequence of threatened fairness and justice-related values (see Bartusevicius et al, 2020;Duque-Franco et al, 2020) due to the pandemic's effect as an amplifier of socioeconomic inequalities (Davidai et al, 2020). COVID-19 spread -due to its foreign origin -may also activate elements of 'ownership threat', whereby one's group rights to decide about their own country, cultural values, and local policies are felt to be taken away (Nijs et al, 2021).…”

Beyond command and control: A rapid review of meaningful community-engaged responses to COVID-19

“…In such approaches communities are seen as targets of risk communication and sources of data for decisions made elsewhere, with superficial forms of consultation. In contrast, in some countries or local settings, affected communities and their organisations have played more substantive, meaningful roles in planning and reviewing responses, and have been involved in key measures for prevention, care and social protection (Bhaduri, 2020;Duque Franco et al, 2020;Scheepers et al, 2020).…”