A Repression That Never Ends. Organization of Relatives and Anti-Carceral Activists in the Face of “Uncertainty,” “Waiting,” and “Confusion” During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article analyzes the ways in which relatives of prisoners and activists confront institutional violence within prisons in Córdoba (Argentina) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through ethnographic fieldwork, it explores the ways in which uncertainty, confusion, and waiting operate as devices that structure the prison experience.

The text also reflects on the role of anthropological intervention in these contexts. The fieldwork included supporting the interlocutors' demands, collectively producing statistical data on deaths and infections, and organizing a press conference, among other activities, together with family members, social organizations, and human rights movements. Throughout this research, the intersections between pressing demands on the state and the role of ethnographic work in conveying these requests are reconstructed in a scenario marked by terror.

Keywords:
Prison; Pandemic; Devices; Intervention