Heterogeneity among merchants in Mexico City’s municipal markets

Abstract

In the last decade and after nearly half a century of neglect, Mexico City’s public markets have once again made their appearance on the urban agenda, both in terms of policy and academic studies. This article, drawn on ethnographic fieldwork with merchants in three public markets, contributes to the burgeoning discussion on markets in two ways: 1) it provides a description of the heterogeneity of merchants and vendors in the markets; 2) on the basis of this description, it proposes ways to analyze the different forms of inequalities which occur in the markets, and the way in which these inequalities intersect with differentiated forms of political representation. We suggest that a better understanding of the heterogeneous life and labor conditions of market vendors is essential to the development of more inclusive, efficient and democratic public policies in these essential urban spaces.