Street Democracy Sandra C
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and University of Nebraska Press Chapters 2017 Street Democracy Sandra C. Mendiola García Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples Mendiola García, Sandra C., "Street Democracy" (2017). University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters. 381. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples/381 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Nebraska Press at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Street Democracy Buy the Book The Mexican Experience William H. Beezley, series editor Buy the Book VENDORS, VIOLENCE, AND PUBLIC SPACE IN LATE TWENTIETH- CENTURY MEXICO Sandra C. Mendiola García University of Nebraska Press | Lincoln and London Buy the Book © 2017 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Mendiola García, Sandra C., author. Title: Street democracy: vendors, violence, and public space in late twentieth- century Mexico / Sandra C. Mendiola García. Description: Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, [2017] | Series: The Mexican experience | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: lccn 2016042875 isbn 9780803275034 (cloth: alk. paper) isbn 9780803269712 (pbk.: alk. paper) isbn 9781496200013 (epub) isbn 9781496200020 (mobi) isbn 9781496200037 (pdf) Subjects: lcsh: Street vendors— Political activity— Mexico. | Informal sector (Economics)— Political aspects— Mexico. | Government, Resistance to— Mexico. | Vending stands— Political aspects— Mexico. Classification: lcc hf5459.m58 m45 2017 | ddc 381/.180972— dc23 lc record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/2016042875 Set in Garamond Premier by John Klopping. Designed by N. Putens. Buy the Book Para mis padres Celia García y Serafín Mendiola To Chad and Lucia Pearson Buy the Book Buy the Book CONTENTS List of Illustrations ....................................ix Acknowledgments ....................................xi List of Abbreviations .................................xv Introduction .........................................1 1. Prelude to Independent Organizing ...................29 2. Vendors and Students in the 1970s .................... 55 3. Staging Democracy at Home and Abroad ..............91 4. The Dirty War on Street Vendors .................... 119 5. From La Victoria to Walmart ........................139 6. The Struggle Continues .............................165 Conclusion ........................................187 Notes ..............................................195 Glossary ...........................................239 Bibliography .......................................241 Index ..............................................259 Buy the Book Buy the Book ILLUSTRATIONS Photographs 1. A fayuca stall ........................................ 18 2. Street vendors behind La Victoria market ..............23 3. Vendors on sidewalks ................................37 4. A fee collector .......................................39 5. A bus painted with a student slogan ...................70 6. Downtown protest by students and vendors ............76 7. Touring a possible site for an enclosed market ..........80 8. A female vendor negotiating with the mayor ...........83 9. A female vendor and her child in a play ................96 10. Protesting the disappearance of Oscar Vega Rosales . 132 11. La Victoria market classroom ........................141 12. A side street of La Victoria market ...................143 Maps 1. Mexico ........................................... xviii Buy the Book Buy the Book ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people helped me research, write, and publish this book. Jeffrey Bortz introduced me to the archives in Puebla, my hometown, in Vera- cruz, and in Mexico City. He also encouraged me to come to the United States to study history, which changed my life. Mariano Torres enriched his classes with dry humor and introduced me to the first street vendor I interviewed, Doña Rosa, who later introduced me to her stepson, who gave me the phone number of a man nicknamed “El Huaraches,” a former student who began working with street vendors in the 1970s. Putting aside my shyness, I called El Huaraches, who was one of the kindest people I met during the several years I spent researching this independent vendor organization. Indeed José Luis Díaz introduced me to at least two dozens vendors and former students who founded the organization that I explore in these pages. At Puebla’s municipal archives I had the fortune to meet wonderful women who were tremendously helpful and patient as I requested boxes related to markets and street vendors. Many thanks to all of them, especially Aurelia Hernández Yahuitl and Rocío (Chío) del Carmen Gómez and to the two friends I met there, Rosa María García Juárez and Janette Gayoso del Valle. Their knowledge and friendship over the years have meant a lot to me. I would like to thank Pilar Pacheco Zamudio, now directing the Archivo Histórico Universi- tario de la Benemérita Universidad de Puebla, for her help and kindness throughout the years. In New Jersey life was good thanks to the friendship and support of fellow historians Jennifer Miller, Laurie Marhoefer, Gregory Swedberg, Robert Alegre, Iben Trino- Molenkamp, and Stephen Allen, who since then have listened to me, responded to my questions, and read drafts of whatever I sent them. At Rutgers I had the best advisor, Mark Wasserman, who always believed in and supported my research. Rutgers also became xi Buy the Book a special intellectual home where I learned much from tremendously smart and caring historians: Temma Kaplan, Gail Triner, Bonnie Smith, Camilla Townsend, Kim Butler, Paul Clemens, Aldo Lauria- Santiago, and Rudy Bell. They are an endless source of inspiration. I have been very lucky to have great colleagues and friends at two institutions. At the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where I taught for four years, I would like to thank Molly Johnson, Stephen Waring, Andrew Dunar, Christine Sears, Randall Dills, and Evan Ragland. They supported every decision I took and introduced me to their families, who became my own. Special thanks go to Ingrid Reck and Beverly Gentry, who lovingly took care of my family and me. I’d also like to thank my wonderful and accomplished colleagues in the History Department at the University of North Texas, especially Jennifer Wallach, Clark Pomerleau, Michael Wise, Robert Citino, Todd Moye, Marilyn Morris, Rachel Moran, Nancy Stockdale, Richard McCaslin, Alexander Mendoza, and Roberto Calderón. They have patiently listened to me, mentored me, and some read several drafts of my work. Thank you all for your unconditional support, warmth, and good humor. Many thanks to the women of La Colectiva at unt for offering their friendship and for sharing their intellectual pursuits. Special thanks and mucho cariño go to Laila Amine, Priscilla Ybarra, and Valerie Martínez- Ebers for reading sections of this book and for their all- encompassing support. Thanks to my students who provided much enthusiasm and insightful comments: Michelle Findlater, Richard Velázquez, Hugo Martínez, Mario Ovalle, Vogel Castillo, Christopher Menking, and Miriam Calixto. Scholars close and far have provided much wisdom. Thanks to Alicia Re Cruz, Mariela Nuñez-Janes, Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Andrew Paxman, Robert Weis, Jaime Pensado, Elaine Carey, Christina Jiménez, Ingrid Bleynat, Jocelynn Olcott, Nara Milanich, Elizabeth Hutchison, Greg- ory Crider, Christopher Boyer, Susan Gauss, Meredith Abarca, Julie Livingston, Jeffrey Pilcher, Monica Rankin, Gareth Jones, Alexander Aviña, and Heather Ann Thompson. Some of them commented on my work in conferences, others read parts of this book and offered very helpful suggestions. Jezy Gray, Amanda Sewell, and Lyndsay Knecht xii Acknowledgments Buy the Book have helped me improve my grammar. Bridget Barry and her amazing team at the University of Nebraska Press have kindly and professionally guided me through the process of publishing this book. Many thanks to Judith Hoover for her thorough copyediting work. I also appreciate the valuable feedback and suggestions I received from the blind readers. With true generosity several friends have supported me throughout the years, feeding my family, donating airline miles to commute during a very difficult year, and taking care of Lucia when we have needed it the most: Holger Bretz, Angélica Villasana, Paula Gaetano, Michael Thompson, Meredith Buie, Justin Lemons, Deborah Armintor, and Jodi Ismert. I can’t thank them enough for providing peace of mind. Nothing, absolutely nothing would have educated me and given me the opportunities I’ve had without the endless love, economic aid, and patience from my now deceased father, Serafín Mendiola Corro, my very alive mother, Celia García Gallardo, and my brother, Juan Manuel Mendiola García. My father began working at the age of four and finished elementary school only at the age of seventeen. That was the end of his formal education. He worked every day of his life and taught himself several subjects until just before he died in March 2006. He would have been very proud of this book. Since my mother doesn’t