Human mobility in times of pandemic. About borders and socio-spatial gaps

Abstract

Migrations have been one of the most researched topics in the field of Contemporary Geography as a clear exponent of the existence of a Global Geography. The complexity of human mobility, and its interdependencies with respect to goods, images and information, have been one of the maximum expressions of the space of flows and networks, whose acceleration led to a profound reinterpretation of the nexus between social and spatial mobility. The intensity of the movements generated in this context is currently affected by the covid pandemic19, whose speed of expansion, for the moment unpredictable in its scope, has made it necessary to contain it. The objective of the work is to analyze the incidence of the pandemic in human mobility issues, emphasizing the new role of borders and socio-spatial gaps. In this exploratory research and with the application of qualitative methodologies, it was resorted to the analysis of bibliographic, journalistic and official sources that allowed us to open interpretations in an unstable field of analysis, since these are ongoing processes, but which envision deep territorial transformations. While the States put up strict control barriers to prevent the spread of the virus, displacements continue under new strategies that put in tension the space of control and the population itself, aggravating the social conflict.