Vendors see sales drop by up to 85 percent
The merchants were relocated to the interior of the Municipal Market. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía: The street vendors who formerly marketed around Morelos and Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez streets in downtown Jocotepec have all been relocated. The merchant community met with the municipal president, José Miguel Gómez López, in a last attempt to prevent them from being dispossessed of their original work spaces, but the mayor remained unyielding.
As of January 25, merchants who were able to find a place inside the Morelos Market were relocated. However, during this first week, the change has not been beneficial in the eyes of the vendors. Sales were directly impacted, with the vendors who were relocated to the upper floor seeing a decrease of up to 85 percent.
«At this hour I would have sold 400, 450 pesos and right now, you see, I have only sold a bag of nopales, only 15 pesos», said one of the merchants who preferred to remain anonymous. Like other vendors, she said she did not know how to support her family.
Who will go upstairs for a bag of nopales, a handful of guamúchiles or a kilogram of onions, is the question asked by some of the merchants who for many years sold their products in the streets surrounding the market. Although an elevator was installed in the Mercado Morelos to encourage people to visit the second floor, it is not operating.
According to those affected, sales decreased by up to 85 percent during the first week. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.
Some merchants have stopped selling in the area, like those who have set up their «little stall» outside their house on 499 Morelos Street in Nextipac. At their advanced age, climbing the stairs every day with their merchandise would be impossible. They are not alone. Other vendors commented «It has caused us more work to climb every day with all our heavy goods.»
Merchants who could not find a place inside the Market have seen the biggest drop in sales. They have been relocated to the small square of «La Campana», at the junction of Morelos and Independencia streets where they say «not even the flies can stop.» They say they will try to endure the situation as best they can, in the hope that, with the passage of time and the force of habit, their former customers will come to the new facilities.
Meanwhile, since the relocation, the Government of Jocotepec has begun the work of beautification to improve the town’s image. Constant piles of garbage left by the irregular collection contribute to the problem.
Translated by Elisabeth Shields
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