The city government has renewed efforts to clamp down on illegal street vendors, more commonly known as manteros, throughout Buenos Aires.
In a operation between Federal and Metropolitan Police forces, at least 500 officers were deployed early this morning in Caballito to prevent vendors from laying out their goods. In addition, 100 bags of illegal goods, which are said to be mainly clothing and counterfeit sunglasses, were reportedly seized by police.
Manteros accuse Macri’s government of victimising the poor (Photo: Patricio Murphy)
Yesterday in Retiro several manteros were evicted admist a scuffle with Metropolitan police in which one local was arrested for refusing to close down his stand. The incident left two officers injured.
On the 22nd January 2015 a similar case took place in Flores, Caballito and Once, again with confrontations, and leading to the seizure of goods. Thirty illegal stalls were moved on Av. Pueyrredón, and one of the five people who refused to move was arrested.
This morning’s operation is part of a new crackdown on the manteros, who get their nickname from the Spanish word manta, meaning blanket.
Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, mayor of the City of Buenos Aires told La Nación newspaper: “We are looking to improve the situation, but we must also give an alternative to people who work on the street. The option is to relocate them to pieces of land that are nearer to the places where they now sell goods, so they can continue with their labour.”
There have also been discussions regarding from the government regarding moving the manteros into warehouses, a move resisted by most of the sellers. Daniel, a mantero who works at Once, told La Nación: “If they send us to the warehouses, were going to vegetate. Trade takes place on the street.”
Clara Muzzio, the deputy secretary for the use of public space (UEP) urged caution, saying that: “Not every mantero can be moved. We’re first going to do a survey to detect the problem in particular before initiating any action or operation.”
Long-Running Dispute
The latest incidents resurrect an ongoing debate about finding a compromise between the street sellers who demand a right to earn a living and shop owners who claim they are put at a disadvantage by operating as an official entity.
A law sanctioned by the city government in December 2011 prohibited street vendors from operating outside of designated areas away from the city centre. But efforts to evict manteros faced major protests and were unsuccessful.
According to the Argentine Confederation of Medium-Size Enterprises (CAME), in December 2015 there was a daily average of around 6,600 illegal vendors on the streets of Buenos Aires, more than double the figure from two years earlier.
CAME and the Federation of Commerce and Industry in the City of Buenos Aires (FECOBA) called the recent evictions a positive step towards eradicating what it has called a “scourge” on legal business operating legitimately in the city.
FECOBA states that it is in “favour of the actions that the city government, alongside the Metropolitan and Federal Police carrying out operations to evict the manteros from Av. Avellaneda within the neighbourhoods of Flores and Floresta”.
FECOBA adds that the manteros are the public face of “a millionaire business designed by organised mafias who develop a system of slave labour, trafficking in clandestine workshops, smuggling, theft and piracy of goods, unfair competition, and corruption.”
However, speaking to A24 News, street seller Jaira said that her sole interest is to work. She explained that where she operates in Flores is a prime location as many people pass by, and claimed that moving her elsewhere would affect her livelihood. “The only thing we asked is to be allowed to work peacefully,” she said, adding that in terms of finding a solution, “nobody has told us anything on the matter.”
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