A ghost runs throuhg the countryside: experiences of rural and indigenous communities in the face of Covid 19

Abstract

The arrival of the Covid 19 pandemic in Mexico implied drastic, sudden and accelerated changes in economic, labor, social and health practices, and the implementation of prevention and care actions. The presence of the virus occurred in a differentiated and gradual way in the multiple spaces-times-practices and actors where the measures were: being quarantined, staying in confinement, keeping the minimum distance in public spaces, avoiding personal contacts, use of covers mouths and antibacterial gel. The objective of this article is to know and understand the intersubjective experiences, the attitudes and practices that the peasant and indigenous populations of Veracruz and Tabasco maintained with the presence of Covid 19, the dynamics of social interaction, the changes in their daily lives and how they carried out actions differentiated from what was indicated at government levels based on their own sociocultural processes. We conclude that the prevention actions did not prevent contagion and death from Covid, and took measures of solidarity and support that strengthened them. This research is based on virtual field work and technological ethnographic exploration that was carried out during 2020.