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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | October 2007 
Mexican Police Keep Vendors Off the Streets
 Olga R. Rodriguez - Associated Press
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| | A deserted avenue in Mexico City after police evict 15,000 street vendors from the historical centre of the Mexican capital. (AFP/Omar Torres) |
Mexico City - More than 1,000 police officers in riot gear blocked street vendors from setting up stands selling knockoff purses and pirated DVDs on Friday, clearing Mexico City's clogged historic center for the first time in more than a decade.
The removal of about 15,000 vendors from 87 downtown streets was peaceful - at least a temporary victory for leftist Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who is widely believed to have presidential ambitions.
Like dozens of mayors before him, Ebrard has promised to take back public spaces and improve the quality of life in this city of 8.5 million.
But vendors warn that they will be back when the holiday shopping season begins in November, renewing a conflict that dates back centuries. A worn marble plaque, installed in 1673 on a convent that now serves as a jewelry store, warns vendors to keep off its street corner or face reprisals from the government of "New Spain."
While Mexico City will grant vendors a reprieve at Christmas, they are supposed to leave after the new year and relocate to government-subsidized properties nearby.
Earlier administrations have tried relocating vendors as well: Many of the city's main indoor marketplaces were created decades ago to help clear the streets. And the strategy often worked, for a while.
But many vendors say they won't go. Represented by large and sometimes violent unions, they argue that the designated properties offered by the city will fail to attract customers.
"They are not thinking about the fact that these people don't have jobs," Alejandra Barrios, president of a high-profile vendors union, told W Radio. "What do they think these people will do?" There are about 35,000 vendors in the downtown area alone. |
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