Street Workers and the Law: A First Impression on Legalized Discrimination in Municipal Ordinances on the Matter in Metropolitan Lima

Street trade is one of the most common sources of income for people living in poverty in mostly informal economies. Such work exposes them to a series of economic, social and also legal barriers. In the present document, we have analyzed the legal provisions of eight districts of Metropolitan Lima to determine how the norms regulate the work, the use of space, hygiene and the time of street traders in this city. According to our research, the municipal ordinances of Metropolitan Lima point to the street trader as another racialized person who must be controlled in the public space. Although it is not excluded, its inclusion is precarizing, increasing its vulnerability.