With records of their presence dating back to the days of the Aztecs, mobile vendors have long been a part of life and commerce in the city. Especially as CDMX began to sprawl more widely in the mids , entrepreneurial vendors found increased opportunities to reach customers by cart, truck, bike, and foot. This integral status, however, is threatened by changes in the global supply chain, shifting consumer habits, and the rise of app-enabled shopping and delivery services.
While their collective future remains uncertain, for many city dwellers, these mobile merchants remain a vital part of daily life. Despite the large number of itinerant merchants in CDMX, the legality of their work is unclear.
Many of them operate informally without express legal permission or protection β a phenomenon common anywhere that people face inhospitable economic and legal conditions. There has long been conversation about regulating them β an effort that could bring more tax revenue to the city as well as more control over traffic flow and food safety.
But city officials have opted instead for a kind of management through legal ambiguity, an approach that allows the government to crack down on these merchants or let them be, depending on what is politically expedient. Operating in a legal gray area does mean that workers can often avoid paying taxes, rent on a space, or licensure fees. But there are a host of other important financial realities to consider. For example, Jony Albino, who works as an organ grinder with his wife and his sister, does not own his instrument.
On a good day they can earn more than double that. Other days they may only cover the cost of the rental. The informal economy can also leave workers vulnerable to harassment, fines, and extortion. Enforcement of regulations or the ability to operate at all is often decided by the caprices of individuals at a given moment: a police officer who can apply statutes more or less indiscriminately, a competing vendor who feels that their territory is being encroached upon, or a government functionary with their own agenda.
