Mexico City's illegal street vending creeps into cathedral's square

Published: 2004-02-20

MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Warning of a police raid spread quickly among the myriad of vendors set up in capital square, and Esther Sanchez grabbed her rack of contraband watches and hurried into the courtyard of the Metropolitan Cathedral. Several other illegal street vendors followed her inside. Some, like Sanchez, set up shop, while others weathered the storm until the police threat subsided. Dozens of others fled down the colonial-era streets of the historic center or ducked into shops with sympathetic workers. Sanchez, who asked that her real name not be used, said the raids against street vendors have become more common in recent months, regularly forcing her to seek refuge within the gates of the cathedral. But she is not welcome there, either. The cathedral's rector, Father Jose Aguilar Valdes, wants the street merchants out and has asked local authorities for help. He said he is worried the daily trickle of illegal vendors into the cathedral grounds will turn into the deluge it was in years past, when vendors set up their stands throughout the courtyard, all the way into the cathedral.

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