Friendship and adversity: the school as a meeting and companionship space in a context of chronic violence in the north side of Monterrey, Mexico

Abstract

In Mexico, violence is a chronic problem that has intensified in recent years. In 2019, approximately 36,476 people died violently, which is expressed in a rate of 29 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants (INEGI, 2020). This article discusses chronic violence through the narratives and the forms of accompaniment of girls and boys in the school environment. Using a participatory ethnographic methodology that promoted the narration of stories about daily life, more than 82 stories were documented in two schools in a neighborhood in the north of Monterrey, Mexico where violent death and dispossession practices have been taking place for over a decade. We also conducted interviews with officials for the protection of the rights of girls, boys and adolescents who attend this sector, as well as with students’ mothers, grandmothers, or aunts, and different social actors and neighbors of the school. The study reveals the potential of the school as an important emotional environment and provides elements to understandthe horizontal relationship between girls and boys trying make sense of the violent situations they experience, creating spaces and relationships of mutual listening, companionship, and contention.