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Yucatan mayor pays street vendors to stay home

Espita Mayor Josué Castillo buys up vendors’ entire stock before sending them home for their own safety. Photo: Yucatan Ahora

Espita Mayor Josué Castillo sent his city’s produce vendors home, but not before buying up their entire inventory.

The street stalls and hand carts, many run by elderly people, were shut down for coronavirus health precautions. Castillo asked them to protect themselves from the Covid-19.

But he didn’t want to leave them economically high and dry. So with his own money, he purchased everything they were selling that day and allowed them to continue business at home. Fruits and vegetables were then given to municipal kitchens that serve the needy.

Espita, a small city of roughly 12,000 people, is the fourth largest municipality in eastern Yucatan after Valladolid, Tizimín and Chemax.

Espita’s mayor announced a campaign to sanitize the market, parks, public spaces and areas where these vendors commonly work.

“We cannot prohibit them from working, on the contrary we must find a way to help our people,” said Castillo. “We will continue fighting the virus to overcome this situation. Our goal is that there are no more infections and that the economy of our people is not affected any further.”

Source: Yucatan Ahora

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