Affinité horizontale et stratégies de survie parmi les « enfants de la rue ». La bande Solitarios à La Paz (Bolivie)

Abstract

Charles-Edouard de Suremain - Horizontal affinity and survival strategies among "street kids" : The Solitarios Gang in La Paz, Bolivia. Using ethnographic material collected in La Paz, Bolivia, this article looks at the connections that bind "street kids" together and at the anthropological basis of the gang. The organization of one of these gangs, as well as the strategies used by the "brothers" to survive and to obtain drugs and/or alcohol, are analyzed in terms of horizontal affinity, an original kind of elective relationship. Lastly, how programs intended for children are perceived by them opens up avenues for research on psychological and social rehabilitation as a first step in any meaningful action in this field.