Pandemic and social inequiality: the popular neighborhoods of the Buenos Aires suburbs in preventive social isolation.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: research studies the impact of the social isolation measures on the living conditions of the popular neighborhoods of the Buenos Aires suburbs, the family and community strategies and the state intervention in this context.  METHODS: it is based on two successive collaborative surveys carried out by the National University of General Sarmiento, that  collected 80 and 129 short interviews with territorial and health leaders in the first and third phase of isolation, respectively.  RESULTS: quarantine compliance was medium and high. The problems ranked by the referents were: i) the discontinuity of  household income from work; ii) the difficulty of access to basic food; iii) gender violence inside homes; and iv) restrictions on  access to health services. DISCUSSION: the important presence of the state through the transfer of monetary income and direct  food assistance is highlighted, as well as the central role of the network of social organizations that is activated in the  crisis. The quality and scope of assistance are heterogeneous between and within municipalities, depending not only on their volume but also on the articulation between different levels of management and particularly between these and social  organizations.