The Covid-19 Pandemic and its Effects on Conviviality and Social Inequalities: A Comparative Study in Latin America

In 2021, Mecila (Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America)1 began an international investigation to explore the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in three large urban agglomerates in Europe and Latin America: Berlin, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City. Later, this comparative research expanded its scope, adding to the analysis the cities of Asunción, Ciudad del Este and Encarnación, in Paraguay.3 In this case, besides the largest city in the country, Asunción, it was decided to investigate the second and third largest cities, Encarnación and Ciudad del Este, due to their status as border cities, in which cross-border circulation, before the pandemic, was central to the daily life, economic activities — especially those in the informal sector —, and the provision of medical care.