San Miguel de Allende.- Practically all the semi- fixed stalls in the main square were removed by the municipal government. The affected merchants indicated that the reason they were given was to promote quality tourism; there are at least 12 families affected. The municipal president said that there is a regularization policy.
Today there are only two stalls, both sell ice cream; the rest were removed despite the fact that some had been working in the main square for 30 years. It is about 8 semi-fixed stalls that offered sweets, corn, fruit, and hamburgers.
The operation began on Thursday when elements of municipal traffic began to stop the merchants when they dragged their products. The first reason was that they did not have the necessary structure to pull the cart where they sell, even that they did not have the proper driver’s license for towing.
So it continued during the weekend, Friday and Saturday they continued, without letting the merchants who have sold their products for more than two decades pass. In some cases, the merchants’ carts with all their products were taken away by municipal authorities.
Those affected indicated that the municipal government told them that they will not let them work for two months while they review the paperwork, “but the reason that an official gave us is that they want to reactivate the economy by promoting “quality tourism” as if to say that we are making San Miguel ugly, ” said a shopkeeper who preferred to remain anonymous.
They also commented that the municipality told them that if they did not present a document that validates their “permit” they were not going to let them return to that place.
“We were selling our products decades before Mauricio Trejo was mayor and on his first administration, he took 5 merchants from us. We have tried to work with the government and we do what they tell us, ” said one affected.
Each semi-fixed position paid 410 pesos a month for floor rights.
“We want everyone to win”: mayor
In this regard, Mayor Mauricio Trejo said that they have a policy of regularization and combat against informal commerce, “but last weekend’s issue is the lack of permits for these merchants and traffic reports that also cars and cars carts did not meet the requirements and this week we are helping them to regularize so that they can re-enter or be relocated ”.
He pointed out that there is also an important relocation policy “we want everyone to work, and that’s why we are going to relocate them so that they can continue to have an income. “
The bottom line is that at the moment there are more than 60 people unemployed because now they cannot carry out the labor activity that allowed them to have an economic income for more than two decades.
