Building resistance: ethnography of a self-managed social centre in Lisbon

Abstract

Covil is a self-managed social centre in Lisbon. Anarchist, connected to the punk scene and located in an area of the city that houses specific dynamics of collective resistance, it contrasts with the hegemonic city of gentrification. An epicentre of resistance, it is experienced as a space of collective and personal development and emancipation. Through ethnographic research, this article analyses Covil, enabling us to understand and problematize how anarchism, punk and gentrification intersect in it.