Rio de Janeiro – The sweat ran down the face of Talita Ferreira Sanches while pushing a car loaded with beer and water through the sinuous and cobbled streets in Rio de Janeiro last month, calling Shine covered wakes adorned with network socks.
The 22 -year -old from an area on the outskirts of Rio had spent the night sleeping in a street in the Bohemio Santa Teresa neighborhood, covering with just one sheet, so that she could arrive in time for early morning. Carnival party “The sky on earth.”
“Carnival represents a lot of joy and all the money we earn,” said Ferreira Sanches, who has worked as a street seller for the last four years. She earns around 1,500 reais ($ 260) per day during the Carnival, almost the same as the country’s minimum monthly salary.
“Every year, we have a goal. Last year we bought a fridge and a TV, this year we want to buy a wardrobe and a stove, ”he said, pushing cash with one hand while taking out frozen drinks with the other.
As musicians and Stroke walkersSellers are an accessory in River street parties. Known in Portuguese as “ambulants” or “camels”, they look for Instagram pages for times and locations, coordinate in WhatsApp groups, then run through parks and hills, from the center of Rio to the beach of Copacabana, all to place and their cars in the multiplier crushing of thousands – or hundreds of thousands – Thirst Juerguistas.
Stiving vendors provide fuel and hydration of the feast very necessary, and can participate in the cheerful and cheerful atmosphere. However, more than that, it is an economic line of life, which allows them to pay debts, buy gifts for their children and establish them for the rest of the year.
But as the opportunity to collect has grown, more and more vendors have joined the race and have retired. There are almost 500 street parties registered this year, and hundreds more unofficial, considerably more than the pre-pandemic era, and everyone needs cold beer and water.
The City Council of Río made a lottery for 15,000 suppliers authorized in this year’s carnival, 5,000 more than last year, but the observers say there are many more suppliers than places.
Selling without permission makes them vulnerable to harassment, the seizure of their merchandise and even the violence of the Municipal Guard of Rio, according to the Movement of United Street sellers, known for its acronym.
The number of suppliers in recent years has created tensions with the organizers of the party, said Pericles Monteiro, the director of Heaven On Earth, who founded in 2001. The facilitators and Juerguistas of the party have accused the street vendors of blocking the procession by establishing a store in the middle of their way with their heavy cars.
“We could not walk, we felt suffocated,” Monteiro said about the procession of heaven on earth two years ago. The group did not reach the square where the show would end in time, and had to walk almost silent until it reached the designated area. When they arrived there, street vendors had lit barbecues and parked vans on the street, leaving little space for artists, musicians or icuerguistas.
“We support street vendors. People have to work and have an important role. We are aware of that. But the way it has been done, intensity: there has really been a serious problem that hinders the development of the party, “Monteiro added.
Suppliers are aware of complaints and impact on their reputation. This year, Union Sindinformal and other groups launched a campaign to promote respect, adequate organization and security during the carnival, and recommended buying suppliers surrounding the party instead of in the middle of chaos.
The fear of repercussions and clashes also led Muca to produce a manifesto this year asking “to bite harmony.” The document said that criticism and attacks aimed at suppliers cause a violent reaction against an already marginalized community.
“Sellers are seen as dangerous, such as tarnishing the reputation of the city, such as causing public disorder,” said Flávia Magalhães, who investigates street vendors of the Paulist University in Sao Paulo. “But sellers hold a festive street culture that is very important for city tourism.”
They also face Serious working conditionsFighting to access toilets, work long hours without stopping for food and fighting to find a legal place to leave their merchandise, according to a 2019 MUCA report and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. They often spend hours in public transport every day walking to the city from the poor periphery.
During Carnival, being based in the center of the city is a change of play, said Maria de Lourdes do Carmo, 50, known as Maria of street vendors.
Do Carmo has been a seller for three decades, often selling Caipirinhas to foreign tourists in the cobbled hills of Santa Teresa; The municipal guard does not tend to represent there, he said. He was running for a city council seat in last year’s elections to fight for greater respect for his teammates, but lost.
Since last year, prosecutors of the State of Rio have led discussions about the prevention of violence against itinerant workers while trying to address the failure of the municipality to better organize their activity, for example, providing sanctioned deposits for their assets.
And the City Council this year meets a long data for child care services. The authorities will provide a nursery for supplier children during the street parties and parades of Samba schools, with food, cultural activities and games, said the Rio Social Assistance Department in an email.
For the Débora Silva Pereira, 42, it is worth lasting the long and exhausting days of his family, first because the carnival floats the income of his family. On a good day, she makes 3,000 reais, which normally wins in 10 days for the rest of the year, selling women’s clothes. But she also enjoys the work and play mix.
“We know people and make friends. Money makes it worth it, but experience even more, ”he said.
