The salesman

 
 

The History of Street Vendors in Quito

The streets of Quito are a maze of vibrant color.  Street carts dot the horizon with their bright fruit and colorful goods bobbing in the hands of vendors and customers.  This prism of color is not new.  Since the 1950s, street vendors have been an innate part of the urban landscape and the informal economy.  Generations of Ecuadorians have grown up learning to trade in chicklets, lollipops, and “mani’s” (peanuts) as a way to provide for their children.  Indeed, by the year 2000, Quito boasted home to over 10,000 vendors, who sold everything from whipped cream to fresh fruit juices along the cobbled streets.

The Government’s Policy to Clean the Streets

In August, 2000, the major of Quito, Paco Moncayo, decided that these vendors were an eyesore.  Unclear how to “clean the streets” without inciting urban unrest, he opted to increase regulation of street vendors and to relocate many of them to the fringe of the city.  However, Ecuador has had a long history of organizers, and the street vendors unions responded en force.  After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was made to provide vendors with newly constructed space in malls while they would receive additional training in accounting, bookkeeping, and banking.  And, of course, where they would be out of mind and out of sight.

The Photographs Don’t Lie

Since 2000, many vendors have been moved or forced to close.  But, despite the government’s formal policy, the streets of Quito tell a tale of continued resilience.  Many street vendors continue to line the streets in defiance of the government’s mandate.  The poor continue to work their carts and teach their children the trade in an effort to survive. 

And, they continue to fight for their right to a meager living.  For example, on September 22, 2010, a community of vendors united in Southern Quito to protest the government’s plans to move them.  They staged a sleep-in to oppose the government’s actions.  Petronia Fernández opined, “I am from Riobamba and I maintain my family from that which I sell in this street.  The day that I don’t work, I don’t eat.”  The battle is not yet over, and it is unclear how this little skirmish will end.  To see more photographs of street vendors in Quito, click here.

 

Digging their heels in



“In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, to struggle together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life.”


     -Albert Bandura