THREE DAYS TO REMEMBER IN LATIN AMERICA 

By Carmen Roca

What do a street vendor of traditional sweets in Venezuela, an indigenous vendor of flowers in Bolivia and an immigrant vendor of “empanadas” in Costa Rica have in common?A lot - despite their different realities!For example, livelihoods that rely on production and sale on the streets or at markets that cost them years of struggle goods frequently made with their own hands, battles against unsympathetic municipalities; harassment -sometimes violent - from the local police; the desire to organise themselves, which must overcome daily problems of leadership, politics and internal conflicts, and lack of resources to improve their situation or to help solve problems of their fellow vendors.

This was the surprising discovery street vendors of Latin America made at StreetNet’s first regional workshop held in Lima, Peru, from February 15-17. More surprising was to discover that they also shared these experiences with women from as far as India and Africa!  As Jacqueline Alvarez who represented a national Chilean network of women’s groups known as Bio Bio said,“One is not alone; there are other ladies like me who are finding their way through the same problems....Even though they come from different countries, they have taught me a lot about their experiences and strength”.

The workshop was financed by StreetNet, in collaboration with UNIFEM and WIEGO. COPEME , a Peruvian coalition of micro-enterprise supporting institutions, was the organiser of this successful event.

It was attended by 24 representatives of street vendor organisations, coming from 9 different Latin American countries. Members of organisations supporting them also attended.The paryticipants reflected a wide range of organisational experience , coming as they did from national unions, district  federations, local women associations and supportive NGOs. Many of their leaders are street vendors themselves, selling products ranging from fruit and vegetables, CDs and tapes to flowers, newspapers, sweets and empanadas.

The workshop was interesting and fulfilled its objectives. One of these, the exchange of regional experiences, was enriching and highlighted the reality of street vendors : what they do, the problems they face, and how they overcome them through effective organisation. It was felt that vendors in other far off regions of the world appear to be more organised and had much to teach. In this regard, participants thanked the co-ordinator of the National Association of Street Vendors in India (NASVI) Arbind Singh, Winnie Mitullah, the WIEGO co-ordinator and Kenyan researcher, Pat Horn, the international co-ordinator of StreetNet, and Nozipho Lembethe, StreetNet’s Administrator. Language posed no barrier to learning from their pertinent and illustrative experiences.

Another objective, viz that of getting regional input on several issues around StreetNet’s confirmation as the international alliance of street vendors, was also met. Discussions included StreetNet membership (whether members should be the national alliances, city alliances or the smaller associations), political affiliation, class differences, women leadership, and the role of NGOs.

There were heated discussions around these issues both in the small discussion groups and plenary sessions, with opinions conflicting and coinciding at different moments.

Regarding StreetNet’s membership, some participants felt members should be the national alliances, while others preferred city alliance-based membership.Argument for both options included co-ordination, strengthening of organisations, representation of all, etc. It was agreed that StreetNet and its member organisations, should not be politically affiliated. This however, did not preclude individual members from having their political affiliations.

The acceptance of class differences amongst vendors, and acting upon them, was also regarded as a priority.This is to ensure action plans that include all members, and build the capacities of those usually marginalised by class. It was also felt that women’s leadership should be ensured by measures such as a minimum 50%  female quota. In addition however, there had to be capacity building, and ensuringthat women had the necessary space to learn in all aspects of an organisation’s work. In regard to the role of NGOs, it was felt that they could offer support and training but had to respect the independence of street vendors’ organisations, and their decisions.

Participants also had time for discussions with Elsa Guerrero, a councillor from the Lima Municipality, about the experiences of relocated vendors in the city.  Likewise, they met with researcher Eliana Chavez, to discuss an ILO research project being conducted in five Latin American regions, about street vendors.  It inspired them to know that efforts are being made to understand their realities and to act upon these.

The workshop programme was a full one: varying from discussions to lively entertainment. For example, Peruvian folk dancers showed participants their art during the first coffee break! A special bus tour through the city, includinga visit to its two large markets and meetings with respective market leaders, was a fitting end to the workshop. Participants had a chance to address the markets’ vendors through microphones during this visit.

The spirit and atmosphere through the workshop were extremely good. Participants took part enthusiastically and left quite inspired to spread the news about StreetNet in their respective countries. They undertook to report events they knew would take place over the next few months. Most left with a copy of an interim report of the workshop proceedings (a final version will be forwarded to them later) which included a directory of participants’contact information. They will be contacted for their evaluation of the workshop.

The need to keep in contact and to draw in other organisations for inclusion in StreetNet’s database is part of an ongoing programme towards StreetNet’s launch in 2002. Part of popularising StreetNet in Latin America will be local distribution of the StreetNet’s newsletters, with the help of some of the participating organisations.It is also hoped to continue the collaboration with COPEME and EDAPROSPO to co-ordinate contact with Latin American street vendor organisations.

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