Consequences of the Covid-19 crisis on Social Inequalities and Convivial Relations in Three Paraguayan Border Cities

在以往理论阐述的基础上，该研究项目探讨了2019冠状病毒病大流行及其遏制措施如何影响巴拉圭三个最重要的边境城市（Asunción（首都）、埃斯特城和Encarnación）的不同娱乐领域（家庭、社区、公共空间）以及社会不平等的生产和再现动态。这些是巴拉圭与其边境国家（阿根廷和巴西）之间的主要过境点，然而，这些城市与外国邻国的一体化程度和相互关系差别很大。虽然Ciudad del Este严重依赖边境贸易来维持其经济运行，但Asunción却没有。Encarnación则处于中间地位，既依赖边境贸易，也依赖农工部门。沿着这些思路，边境关闭对这些城市的经济和欢乐互动的影响因情况而异。该项目将结合定量方法（调查）和定性方法（焦点小组），从而根据性别、社会阶层、种族和地区等因素确定遏制措施的不同影响。该项目以巴拉圭为重点，使人们能够更深入地了解在不平等程度高、不规范程度高和缺乏社会保障的国家，人们如何受到新冠疫情防控措施的影响，以及人们如何组织起来应对这些困难情况。研究结果不仅将描述所选城市的情况，而且还将使人们能够比较边境关闭对其居民的影响，从而进一步讨论边境地区不同的一体化模式。

Building on previous theoretical elaboration, the research project explores how the COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures have affected different convivial spheres (family, neighborhood, public spaces) and the dynamics of production and reproduction of social inequalities in the three most important border cities of Paraguay: Asunción (the capital city), Ciudad del Este, and Encarnación. These are the main crossing points between Paraguay and its border countries (Argentina and Brazil), however, the level of integration and interrelation of these cities with their foreign neighbors varies widely. While Ciudad del Este relies heavily on border trade to keep its economy running, Asunción does not. Encarnación, for its part, occupies an intermediate position, relying both on border trade and the agro-industrial sector. Along these lines, the impact that border closures have had on the economy and convivial interactions in these cities differs from one case to the other. The project will combine a quantitative approach (survey) and a qualitative one (focus groups), allowing to identify different impacts of the containment measures regarding factors such as gender, social stratum, ethnicity, and region. By focusing on Paraguay, the project enables a deeper understanding of how people in countries with high levels of inequality, elevated degrees of informality and lack of social security were affected by Covid-19 containment measures, and how the population organized to cope with these difficult circumstances. The results will not only offer a description of the situation in the selected cities but will also make it possible to compare how the closure of borders affected their inhabitants, inviting further discussions of different models of integration in border regions.