COVID-19 in Argentina: when the micro-practices of activism fit in a WhatsApp message

Abstract

Circles of friends, members of sports clubs, parent associations, and work colleagues in Argentina have started to provide food and clothing during the pandemic for thousands of families who live in poverty. These groups—neither social movements nor civic associations—use their WhatsApp contacts and network to promote their food drives to prepare meals that they deliver once a week. Parallel to this trend, teachers of schools with vulnerable student bodies find in WhatsApp a channel for communicating with families and accompanying students in what the government has called a “Pedagogical Continuity Plan”—as most students do not have access to the internet or technological devices. Teachers also use this platform for sharing useful information, such as state assistance payment calendars and the WhatsApp direct line for reporting gender or familiar violence, with students’ families.