Mérida’s Complicated Relationship With Street Vendors

Every morning, Mérida’s illegal street vendors set up shop, spreading plastic tables and fabric awnings along busy sidewalks. Some sell food from carts. Others offer clothing, toys or household goods. Tax-paying brick-and-mortar businesses cry foul. And for city officials, it’s a problem that won’t go away.

The Patrón Laviada administration has intensified efforts to regulate the thousands of informal businesses operating without permits across the city. In the past year, municipal inspectors working with police have imposed more than 552,000 pesos in fines and suspended 205 establishments for various violations.

Twenty-five businesses, including 11 restaurants, 11 retail shops, two cabarets and a motel, were temporarily closed due to a lack of proper land-use licenses. Another 180 faced suspensions for code violations ranging from fire safety issues to noise pollution and visual contamination.

The enforcement marks the latest chapter in a centuries-old struggle. Street vending in Mexico dates to the pre-Hispanic era, when commerce flourished in tianguis marketplaces. After the Spanish conquest, vendors called buhoneros emerged outside controlled markets, creating patterns of informal commerce that continue today.

In Mérida’s historic center alone, an estimated 300 to 400 street vendors operate. Another 950 work throughout the city, while roughly 2,000 have registered in official flea markets. State law technically prohibits selling goods on city streets, though thousands continue the practice.

The city has alternated between cooperation and crackdown. During the COVID-19 pandemic, street markets closed for nine months before officials helped vendors reopen with financial support and safety protocols. Former mayor Renán Barrera Concha provided stimulus money to struggling merchants.

Last November, officials reached agreements with vendors to clear four iconic streets connecting Plaza Grande with municipal markets. The 100-day negotiation created a corridor free of stalls while allowing traditional palanganeras to remain. These older Mayan women have sold around the markets for decades.

But cooperation hasn’t always been the approach. In 2019, an economic development official compared three vendor groups operating downtown to organized crime, accusing them of selling Chinese products disguised as Mayan crafts. Three years later, vendors in nearby Progreso alleged police demanded 500 pesos for the privilege of working.

Recent operations have targeted specific problem areas. In July, teams removed 25 vendors near Plaza La Isla shopping mall following resident complaints about blocked sidewalks and trash buildup. Officers confiscate merchandise and issue fines, though vendors can reclaim goods after paying penalties.

The tension sometimes extends beyond traditional street vendors. In 2018, furniture sellers from Chiapas faced accusations of illegal logging, with established businesses claiming the vendors undercut legitimate merchants by 50 percent.

The city now offers alternative solutions. Officials run a network of established markets where vendors can rent stalls at affordable rates. Staff help with paperwork, health certifications and access to microcredit programs. Approximately 1,200 vendors currently hold official permits.

Deputy Director Alfonso Lozano Poveda says his department maintains a zero-tolerance policy on violations but emphasizes support for formalization. Teams remove an average of 30 vendors daily from streets, parks and plazas across the city.

The challenge mirrors broader patterns across Mexico, where an estimated half of all jobs exist in the informal economy. In Yucatán, about 61 percent of economically active residents work informally despite the state’s low 2 percent unemployment rate.

Street vending typically surges by 15 percent during December as vendors sell holiday decorations, clothing and food. The seasonal increase adds to already crowded sidewalks in the historic center and around shopping areas.