Flowing Water: Time And Routine In The Battle For Housing

Abstract

This article describes Leonor’s efforts to guarantee a steady water supply in the squat where she lives. Her efforts bring together the political struggle of occupiers for the right of the poor to live in the city center; the battle of families to keep the rhythm and routine of their daily lives; and the war that involves state agents and drug trafficking in everyday life. Leonor’s work is entangled with the collective work of making water circulate throughout the fifteen years of the squat’s history. In the first part of the article, I present the actions of residents who transformed an abandoned building into a squat through the installation, regularization and maintenance of the water supply. In the second part, I present the struggle of the residents at the interstices of the powers of the state and the drug trade, placing drinking water at the center of their disputes