Na rua é meu trabalho: análise dos modos de viver e trabalhar dos camelôs na cidade de Manaus (1970-2014)

Abstract

This study reflects on the street vendors ways of living and working in the city of Manaus between 1970 and 2014, based on the analysis of news published by the press, especially by the newspaper A Crítica, and the testimonials of street vendors. The period mentioned was marked by several clashes between street vendors and the Manaus City Hall, which, pressured by the actions of shopkeepers, sought to remove them from the main streets in the city center, using measures, sometimes truculent, which were justified by the need to protect formal commerce, under the allegation that it effectively contributed to the local economy, as well as the concern with aesthetics and hygiene considered substantial for cities that intended to present themselves as modern, since the activity of street vendors was commonly associated with dirt, disorder and the occurrence of crimes in the streets, which justified the intervention of police actions. Faced with these circumstances, street vendors constituted various forms of resistance, through the organization of everyday tactics such as the mobile structure of their stands, designed to facilitate possible escapes in the presence of municipal agents, the creation of a network of sociabilities in their space, the constant return to the streets after eviction actions and the formation of a union.