Guanajuato, Mex - Aggressive Vendors

It is amazingly satisfying. It seems that this year alone I have been getting more and more vindications in the Mexico newspapers of my observations about culture in Guanajuato. In my first two books, I made the observation about aggressive vendors around the city that frankly would get mad in a threatening kind of way when you would not buy the stuff they were hawking.

Besides my observation of dangerous parts of the city of Guanajuato where crime of non-petty nature certainly exists, I have reported also parts of the city to avoid because of aggressive and sometimes threatening vendors. Finally, I have vindication:

No habrá vendedores en Plaza de la Paz

Por: Alfonso Ochoa , Martes, 04 de Mayo de 2010

Los permisos para que se instalen se terminaron, debido a quejas de los vecinos contra ellos, dijo el director de Fiscalización

¿TERMINARÁ LA TRADICIÓN?

Ya son varios años que han instalado los comerciantes, ahora éstos resultarán afectados

No se darán permisos a vendedores ambulantes para que este año se coloquen en la zona de la Plaza de la Paz, pues que los vecinos se han quejado de que se roban la luz y han llegado a amenazar a transeúntes, dijo el director de Fiscalización, Jenaro Barba Uribe. [SOURCE]

The article says, and I am paraphrasing, that vendor licenses have been denied for the Plaza de la Paz plaza. The reasons being that citizen have long complained of not only the inconveniences of electric cables to power the kiosk's lights creating walking hazards, the fact that the stands (kiosks) block natural light, but there have been physical threats, "han llegado a amenazar a transeúntes,".

At the end of the article what type of threat is specified:

"Hubo una señora a la que amenazaron con un cuchillo, por eso no podemos volver a darles permisos, pues hay muchas quejas de la ciudadanía" [Ibid]

Or:

"There was a lady whom they threatened with a knife, so we can not give them permission to return, as there are many complaints from citizens"[Translation]

I am not implying that all of Guanajuato's vendors are like this and will threaten you with a knife. However, I have reported that the vendors in certain areas of Guanajuato, like up and around the Pipila, are of this ilk: very aggressive and threatening, and for my efforts those "Cultural Experts," Gringolandians, have in turned threatened me.

One I received was from a Gringolandian male who not only indicated he knew where my wife and I lived, but said, "I ought to come over to your house with some of the expat men and reeducate you as to the benefits of living n Guanajuato."

I sent that quote to my attorney in the U.S. who advised me to leave Mexico immediately.

Well, we didn't (we weren't able to because of my health) and lived in fear for years until we were able to move, finally, to another part of Mexico.

Anyway, there you go.