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#YoSoyDelMercadillo, an initiative to support street vending after the Covid-19 crisis
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The crisis has had a terrible consequences on the sector

23/06/2020
FSG

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#YoSoyDelMercadillo, an initiative to support street vending after the Covid-19 crisis<br>
  • Celebrities and ordinary citizens participate by sharing photo- or video-selfies on social networks, completing the sentence: “I support street markets because…”
  • The Fundación Secretariado Gitano demands that street vending is supported to re-start and that its value is recognised during the Reconstruction process

The Covid-19 crisis has had a terrible impact on people who work as street vendors due to the closure of street markets, and there have also been inequalities in the re-opening of these markets. For this reason, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano has today launched the initiative #YoSoyDelMercadillo to raise awareness of the importance of street vending in providing a living for many families, including Roma families. The intention of #YoSoyDelMercadillo is to encourage people to return to street markets, to support all the vendors and to highlight their key role in local trade.

This initiative will be publicised on social networks using the hashtag #YoSoyDelMercadillo, calling on the public to start shopping in street markets again. It also calls on celebrities and the general public to collaborate, each person participating by sharing a photo- or video-selfie along with the statement “I support street markets because…”, followed by some of the reasons why they shop in street markets or choose to back them. The intention is to generate a stream of support which will encourage people to start shopping again in street markets, with the confidence that comes from being able to shop in outdoor spaces where the appropriate safety measures can be taken. 

Street vending has proved itself to be a sustainable, profitable economic activity which contributes to the economic development of cities and towns, but it has been one of the hardest-hit sectors in recent months. Street vending represents 8% of retail trade in Spain, with more than 3,500 street markets across the country and around 40,000 stallholders registered. It generates an annual turnover of 2,100 million euros, 62% through self-employed workers and 35% through workers belonging to cooperatives. In addition, it is the primary source of employment for the Roma population; a population among whom the self-employed represent 47% (30,504 people), the majority working as street vendors.

For years now, street vendors have found themselves suffering progressively increasing job insecurity and job losses, which are destroying a means of survival for many families. In this context, the declaration of the state of alarm and the public health emergency caused by Covid-19 have brought disastrous consequences for the whole sector, delivering a tremendous blow to the already-stretched financial means of many Roma families. For all these reasons, it is essential that street vending is included in the plans for reconstruction following the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

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At the Photo Gallery we have put different versions of posters to identify the video or photo-selfies and messages on social networks, depending on the format 
(horizontal, vertical or square) or logos (to which other entities and institutions can be added. who want to join this campaign).

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