Getting Organized

Political and Economic Dilemmas for Maya Handicrafts Vendors

Bibliographic Data

ID4500545
AuthorsWalter E Little (0000-0002-0625-5851, University at Albany, State University of New York, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume32
Issue5
Pages80-100
Publication date2005-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0094-582X • E-ISSN: 1552-678X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0094582x05279506
OpenAlexW2160457619
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited52

For decades, Maya handicrafts vendors have been in conflict with the municipal government and the police of Antigua Guatemala over rights to sell in the city. This struggle is part of daily life for street vendors and those selling in the Compaiiia de Jesus marketplace. Over time, they have employed various strategies in order to stay in Antigua despite pressure from government officials and local businesspeople. Such conflicts are not unique; throughout the world, street vendors, especially, have clashed with local governments over the right to sell particular goods and to sell in particular locations (Castaieda, 1996; 1997; Clark, 1988; Cross, 1998a; 1998b; Dannhaeuser, 1989; Stoller, 2002). However, for handicrafts vendors in Guatemala and elsewhere in Latin America (Castafieda, 1996; Chibnik, 2003; Colloredo-Mansfeld, 1999; Grimes and Milgram, 2000; Nash, 1993a; Wood, 2000a; 2000b) the intensification of global economic and political processes is transforming the ways in which artisans and vendors make a living, construct their households, and organize politically. The political strategies that Maya vendors employ are a product of the intersection of handicrafts vending with globalization and especially international tourism. Vendors' economic connections with international tourists (averaging hundreds but amounting to thousands during Holy Week), the

Political science · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Politics and Society in Latin America

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub