Mérida, Yucatán — After weeks of tensions between authorities and vendors, the street hawkers’ illegal stalls have been cleared in a midnight raid.
In a joint operation between the municipal police and city officials, numerous vendor stalls were dismantled and confiscated in the central market district, calles 56 and 56-A, between 69 and65, and calle 65 between 56 and 58.
Businesses had complained that the vendors represented unfair competition and presented a sidewalk hazard. Vendors said they were acting out of a need to provide for their families, having no other source of income. Street vendors are nothing new in the Centro, but at Christmas time, more hawkers arrive with holiday novelties and decorations.
The director of the Municipal Police, Mario Arturo Romero Escalante, said the eviction took place without incident. There were even cases in which the owners were nearby and complied with a request to remove their own stalls.
The law enforcement agencies said that the structures were marked properly and impounded.
Source: Municipal press release
