Vendors’ Capitalism: A Political Economy of Public Markets in Mexico City

One of the central facets characterizing life in Mexico City has been its vibrant commercial activity within markets and on the streets. This book endeavors to shed light on the transformations experienced by these vendors between 1867 and 1966, coinciding with shifts in the economy and the gradual consolidation of capitalism. The research comprehensively traces a century-long trajectory of the intricate relations between vendors and authorities, encompassing their modes of challenging authority, organizational structures, and the consequential changes witnessed in public markets amid the rapid urbanization of one of the world's most densely populated capital cities.This scholarly work makes a contribution to the existing literature on commercial activity among numerous self-employed women and men who operated in buildings specifically constructed during this period to accommodate their entrepreneurial endeavors, as well as in the bustling streets surrounding the public markets. These public spaces served as workspaces for many individuals who lacked the financial resources to lease shops or obtain licenses.Ingrid Bleynat's research delves into the intricate position of these vendors within the political economy. The author observes that "they endured exploitation through exchange" (2). The book discusses with specialists on the economic and social setting of Mexico during the studied period, including figures such as John Womack Jr., Ariel Rodríguez Kuri, John Lear, and Pablo Piccatto, and addresses the interplay between politics and commercial activity. Broadly speaking, the book presents a comprehensive account of the attitudes exhibited by the political and economic elites toward these activities, drawing on archives in Mexico as well as newspapers throughout five major periods, each corresponding to a chapter within the book.For the initial two periods spanning the so-called Restored Republic and the first decade of the twentieth century, the author focuses her attention on the attitudes adopted by political and intellectual elites, as well as the relevant authorities (primarily the Ayuntamiento city council and the government of the Federal District) regarding public markets and street vendors (viento vendors). Throughout this period, the author argues with historiography that has addressed the contentious relations between the ayuntamiento and the central government in terms of regulating these activities. Given the inherent challenge in granting visibility to the vendors themselves, Bleynat primarily investigates paternalistic attitudes, which she posits are a consequence of religiously tinged "compassion" toward the urban poor. The author posits that vendors built their legitimacy on the foundation of a moral economy. However, due to the scarcity of sources or the absence of the vendors' own voices, the book does not provide comprehensive support for this argument. The author could have engaged in a more extensive dialogue with the historiography on markets or research on the perspectives of vendors during the late nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth.Bleynat discusses how market vendors gained empowerment during the Mexican Revolution, subsequently incorporating the advocacy of their rights, which reflects existing historiography. The book contributes to this scholarship by examining the formation of early vendor organizations in the 1920s, which actively opposed rent, fee, and tax increases. It provides an insight into the nascent collective actions undertaken by these vendors and their varied forms of protest. Nevertheless, a more comprehensive analysis of this period would have enriched the work by emphasizing the consolidation of these organizations and highlighting the distinctions between salaried workers and these self-employed sectors. These distinctions only emerge when the author highlights the contrasting attitudes of workers and sellers regarding the demand for Sunday rest in 1923.The book also examines the expansion of markets into other areas of the burgeoning city and the exponential growth of commercial activity on the streets during the postrevolution period, the Mexican miracle and developmentalism, spanning from 1930 to 1966. The author elucidates how vendors' organizations underwent politicization and became integrated within the corporatist framework of the official party, initially the Partido de la Revolución Mexicana (PRM) and subsequently the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). Bleynat prioritizes two crucial aspects: the quotas and taxes imposed on vendors within markets, and the impact of price control policies. Drawing from the existing historiography on clientelism in Mexico, this book highlights the political maneuvering of repression in controlling street commerce, while simultaneously seeking to incorporate vendors into the party base through their affiliation with organizations controlled by politicians, such as the Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Populares or the federations and associations of vendors that emerged during this period. The remarkable expansion of this economic sector broadened the pool of potential voters, who were both courted and rewarded during specific junctures. This final segment of the book offers an in-depth and densely researched study of clientelist relations between 1930 and 1966.Undoubtedly, this book makes a valuable contribution to the historiographical landscape by introducing new sources and providing insights into the construction of clientelist relationships within a visible segment of the population in the Mexican capital. Covering a long period carries the risk of leaving many processes only sketched out or inadequately explaining certain assertions. Several topics remain unresolved, demanding further analysis by the author. These include the moral economy of vendors in the late nineteenth century, the incorporation of the vendors' perspectives in studies of political economy, the relationship between compassion and paternalism, the significance of urban self-employment in Mexico amid the advance of capitalism, and a more seamless dialogue with the growing bibliography on street vendors in the mid-twentieth century. As with all rigorous research, this work effectively opens up avenues for future discussion and exploration.