Feminismo contra a criminalização do aborto: El Salvador e a pandemia de covid-19

Abstract

The article analyzes the mobilizations of feminist activists and collectives in El Salvador during the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically in relation to gender, sexuality and reproductive issues between 2020 and 2022. The study was conducted using a qualitative methodology that included semi-structured interviews, case studies, and data collected from Comunica América Latina, a publication by the Latin American Social Movements Observatory (OMSAL), between July 2020 and February 2022. The case study is based on two incidents that drew attention to the situation of women's reproductive rights in El Salvador, where a total ban on abortion is strictly enforced: the cases of Manuela and Beatriz. These incidents involved two young Salvadoran women who were exposed to obstetric violence and the country's anti-abortion laws in the early 2000s. The results indicate the efforts of Salvadoran feminist movements to resist the social distancing measures imposed to combat the coronavirus and the authoritarian political tactics of President Nayib Bukele. Additionally, the stories of Manuela and Beatriz mobilized significant collective actions during the pandemic and impacted the dispute over the social imaginary regarding abortion in the country.