Struggling in pandemic times: Migrant women's virtual political organization during the COVID-19 crisis in Spain

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, the lockdowns brought about the loss of labour and social rights for many migrant women working in highly informal employment sectors. Drawing on digital ethnography, this article examines the role of migrant women in political mobilization within migrant associations during 2020 in Spain, when online interactions assumed primary importance. First, it shows how migrant organizations create bricolage by combining economic, social, cultural and political resources to organize migrants in Spain during COVID-19 within the digital space. Second, the article highlights how the reactions of the migrant population to the pandemic in Spain represent an act of disruption led mainly by women, within the dynamics of social conflict and political activism that characterize migratory processes. This analysis displays as well the crucial role played by care relationships in these contexts of crises.