Popular economy and essential work during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of the health promoters of the “Frente de Organizaciones en Lucha” in Villa 1-11-14, City of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Los efectos de la pandemia del COVID-19 y la aplicación de las medidas de aislamiento social preventivo y obligatorio (ASPO) determinaron qué ocupaciones son consideradas esenciales en esta etapa, entre las cuales se encuentran las que llevan adelante las trabajadoras del Frente de Organizaciones en Lucha en la Villa 1-11-14 como promotoras de salud. Nuestro objetivo esanalizar las actividades que desarrollan estas trabajadoras en el territorio que habitan, donde se exponen al contagio, articulan con organismos estatales, utilizan sus propios recursos organizativos para hacer frente a la pandemia y efectúan múltiples labores enfocadas a crear y mantener vida.La metodología se basó en la implementación de entrevistas en profundidad a delegadas de la organización territorial que se abocan al trabajo sanitario. Retomamos la perspectiva de la teoría de la reproducción social a los fines de sustentar nuestro planteo.The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown, determined the occupations considered essential, including those carried out by the workers of the “Frente de Organizaciones en Lucha” in Villa 1-11-14, as health promoters. Our objective is to analyze the activities carried out by these workers in the territory they inhabit, where they are exposed to contagion, articulate with state agencies, use their own organizational resources to face the pandemic, and carry out multiple tasks focused on creating and maintaining life. The questions guiding the present study are: How did the pandemic impact the socio-community work of the organization analyzed? How was the accumulated knowledge -training and professionalization- of the women health promoters deployed in the context of the pandemic? What articulations were developed between the State and the territorial organizations in health matters? What characteristics did assume such articulation and what conflicts emerged? In what way did the insertion and territorial reference of the organization make access to health policies possible? The methodology was based on the application of in-depth interviews with delegates from the territorial organization who are engaged in health work. We return to the perspective of the theory of social reproduction in order to support our findings that show that the work of women within the framework of the organization becomes an institution of social reproduction that transcends the home and expands throughout the social territory, while their work is characterized by precariousness, low income, flexibility and task overload.Fil: Silva Mariños, Lisandro Rubén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda. Departamento de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo; Argentin