Solidarity in pandemia | from networks to streets

Abstract

The  crisis  caused  by  the  new  coronavirus  is  a  global  phenomenon  that  has mobilized    local,    national    and    international    institutions.    In    the    local    scenario, organizations carry out solidarity actions to mitigate the social effects resulting from the pandemic. Vulnerable populations are in unsanitary conditions that make it impossible to carry  out  preventive  health  care  for  Covid-19.  This  suffering  has  aroused the  feeling  of solidarity  that  has  turned  into  actions  of  collective  aid.  One  of  the  highlights  is  the collective “Unified for Street People”, which operates in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, Brazil.  In  a  society  in  which  contemporary  social  transformations  have  relegated  social ties to a secondary role, valuing instead a utilitarian rationality,  the  notion of  solidarity contrasts with the hegemony of  neoliberal doctrine. To shed light on the importance of solidarity in the formation of social ties in the face of the pandemic, it is necessary to add anti-utilitarian thinking and the gift paradigm.