Learning to Work in an Industrial Mexican City in Transition (1990–2000)

In contemporary Mexican cities, as in many other Latin American cities, unequal working conditions are visible everywhere. In what might be labeled a “street corner economy,” the coexistence of formal and informal economic sectors and labor markets can be observed any day of the week, during business hours and beyond, on most main streets or at any given intersection. Modern international banks or luxurious commercial centers are accompanied by street venders who sell breakfast juice, coffee, and traditional Mexican food to business people minutes before opening hours, or at lunch time. Flowers, magazines, toys imported from China, cutlery, soft drinks, candies, chewing gum, or whatever else comes to one’s imagination are offered to passers-by walking down the streets or drivers stuck in traffic. In larger cities these convenience workers have completely taken control of the some areas of the urban space.