Street vending in Puerto Vallarta is a recurrent problem that has been present for years, but with the coronavirus pandemic and the loss of jobs and opportunities in the city, it has been growing, invading areas such as the malecón where their presence is partially prohibited.
For this reason, businessmen from the city have asked that street vendors be removed from the area, since they assure that, in addition to representing unfair competition, they affect the image of this tourist destination.
Hortensia Dueñas Salcedo, director of Inspection and Regulations, points out that this problem must be addressed daily and without tolerance to take care of the image of the city.
“Well, yes, it is a serious problem, but I think you can have a solution by working daily,” said the official, assuring that the dependency in her charge works without tolerance, “because in reality, we seek to take care of Puerto Vallarta, more than anything the image of Puerto Vallarta that I think is something that should be taken care of and that should concern us”, she highlighted.
The problem has been growing to the extent that between 30 and 50 street vendors are withdrawn every day from the streets of the city, explained the Director of Inspection and Regulations.
“During the week up to 30 can be withdrawn and on weekends 50, that is, it varies, it depends on the season,” she explained, exemplifying that in the month of December there was a little more street vending, as well as in the recent long weekend, where the problem worsened.
“Well, people look for the opportunity to get closer to tourism.” The situation is accentuated in the tourist strip, from the beach to the urban area without the support of federal authorities, where street vendors seek to sell their products, Dueñas Salcedo details.
“The problem comes from the federal zone that unfortunately, they are taking over the federal zone, they go to the malecón. So what is involved in street vending in the federal zone, well, Regulations come in there, but it also corresponds to Profepa, but many times we do not have the support of the inspectors,” she added.
