The economic difficulties derived from low or no sales after the relocation, motivated the merchants to raise their voices.
First on Morelos street and then in front of the presidency, a group of 15 street vendors demonstrated in Jocotepec. Photo: Miguel Cerna.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jococtepec).- A group of street vendors demonstrated on March 2 on Morelos Street and at the Municipal Presidency of Jocotepec.
A little more than a month after being relocated to the upper part of the market, the 15 dissatisfied merchants said they had low or no sales in the space assigned to them, so they decided to raise their voices to be heard by the municipal president José Miguel Gómez López.
The vendors set up their stalls on the sidewalk behind the DIF building around 7:00 a.m. with the intention of «giving away their products to passersby» in protest.
However, before their arrival, two municipal police patrol cars and at least ten police officers were already waiting for them. Immediately, the uniformed officers blocked the sidewalk and prevented citizens and merchants from selling their products.
An hour later, personnel from the Department of Registration and Licenses arrived at the site and proceeded to remove the merchandise from the demonstrators, their tables and all their work material. Avocados, honey, nopales and sweet bread were some of the products withheld.
«They took away our products, they did not let the people pass by. People wanted to come closer to buy from us, and I was giving them my product. The police did not let us give anything to them, that is unfair,» said Carmen Aguilar.
Demanding to be heard and attended to by Mayor José Miguel Gómez López, the vendors moved to the outskirts of the town where they placed signs with the slogans: «Our family depends on our work» and «I have three mouths to feed and there are no sales up here.»
In the absence of Gómez López who, according to information from the Registration & Licenses staff, was in the city of Guadalajara, the group of protesters was joined by municipal trustee Carlos Alberto Zúñiga Chacón in the Bicentennial Hall at 9:00 a.m.
«What was done today in the morning was a demonstration, not to make disorder as was mentioned (by Registration & Licenses personnel), but to make them listen to us, because the truth is that we all need to work, but to work in a place where we have sales,» said one of the affected merchants.
In the meeting, the merchants explained to the trustee the economic difficulties that the relocation has brought them due to low sales, and asked for his intervention to reach an agreement that will benefit them as soon as possible.
«We are day after day abiding by their rules, we have not left (the market) at all, and yet there are days when we take home 20 pesos in sales. My two sisters lost their rented houses and now they are living with me; there are 12 children sleeping on the floor and without much to eat,» commented Ana, who sells nopales.
«They don’t want to lend us (money), they have to leave without paying for the food because the children are hungry, do you think it’s fair that we go around scavenging for scraps from the fruit stores to have something to eat?» added Ana.
After listening to their demands, Zúñiga Chacón promised to work on a modification project that would allow the vendors to install themselves on the side of the market on Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez Street, although he clarified to them that there would not be an immediate resolution because the work would have to be requested from the State Government.
«The request that I made for the modification of the stairway on Josefa Street and/or inside the market cannot be made at the moment, since the work needs to be validated by the corresponding state authorities,» the trustee answered to the affected parties on March 3.
So far, the municipal president, José Miguel Gómez López, has not issued any statement on the matter. The merchants are hoping for a favorable resolution to the situation, since the almost null sales have already begun to affect their lives.
«The president can give us a statement whenever he wants, but he should know one thing: we no longer want to be upstairs,» said one of the vendors.
Translated by Sydney Metrick
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