According to a survey of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce, in La Plata, illegal street vending continues with a strong presence in the main commercial areas of the city, with growth values that practically double between February and March, but express a decrease of this type presence compared to the previous year.
The study, which is carried out periodically by the Argentine Chamber of Commerce (CAC), detected 190 illegal street vendors on avenues, streets and pedestrians. This value represents an increase of 91.9 percent in relation to February and presented a decrease of 30.7 percent compared to March 2022, it is indicated.
In the ranking of most affected areas, it can be seen that the first position was occupied by the Plaza Italia area, where a total of 69 positions were counted.
That represents 36.3 percent of the total number of positions surveyed in the streets of the city.
In second place was Plaza San Martín (Street 6 to 7 and 50 to 54) with 46 stalls and a participation of 24.2 percent.
The item with the highest incidence in the streets, avenues and pedestrians of the local shopping center was clothing and footwear, which represented 69.6 percent of the items observed.
Meanwhile, optics, watches, photography and jewelry was in second place, with 13.8 percent of the total.
With the numbers in sight, the commercial leader Martín Ranea, from the 12th street area, told this newspaper that in that area “we notice that there are fewer vendors, but those that remain have enlarged their stalls. That is to say, they went to look for the market that the others left”.
This newspaper released in recent days data on the retraction of the presence of the Senegalese community in the City. In commerce they associate that with the panorama in some central arteries.
“There is a problem with the exchange (of the currency) for street vendors, who send their money to where their families are and that creates a difficulty,” Ranea said about the decrease in street stalls. Thus, he considered that it is likely that they are leaving “because of that situation.
The items with the highest incidence in this type of practice are footwear and clothing
For his part, Martín Bizet, also a leader of the commercial sector, referenced with the activity in the center of City Bell, analyzed that “for there to be street vending, three factors are necessary: proximity to store things, a large volume of people walking and a mass of potential customers for adulterated products and brands that are not original. In City Bell we don’t have it, but it does appear on streets 7, 8 and 12. The strong problem is there. In La Plata we see that many Senegalese are leaving because the business is no longer convenient for them. The dollar is expensive for them and they cannot turn abroad or make savings in dollars. They look for more profitable destinations. Some places are occupied by other nationalities and Argentines, but the Senegalese, who was the strongest, goes to other countries. It is good news, since we have never been able to fight against what we consider to be unfair competition”, said the merchant and clarified that “it is a momentary situation”, referring to the exchange rate.
The merchants demand comprehensive policies from the Nation, the Province and the Municipality to fight against illegal sales.
Bizet pointed out that members of that community left the street and set up shops. “Anyone who rents a place becomes a colleague. From the cameras we talk about it, we seek to convince them, help them. Offer them guarantees,” he stated.
The painting in the capital
The City of Buenos Aires once again showed a strong concentration of this type of activity. Together with La Plata, they are the usual measurement points.
Last March, 1,130 jobs were detected in the areas surveyed by the entity’s Trade and Services Observatory. This represented an increase of 16 percent compared to March 2022, while, in relation to the previous measurement (February 2023), there was a drop of 7.5 percent.
The ten most affected blocks contained 59.8 percent of the total stalls located on streets, avenues, and pedestrians. Likewise, they represented 26.6 percent of the total number of blocks penalized for illegal sales.
In the “Top 10”, Zone Once had 6 of the 10 most hit blocks, with a participation of 31.3% in the total detected in avenues and streets. The remaining 4 blocks were found on Avellaneda avenue, with a 28.5% share.
