News
Published on May 6, 2024 at 6:55 pm
The Legislative Assembly of Paraíba (ALPB) held a special session, on the afternoon of this Monday (06), to deal with the organization of the work of street vendors in the State. The event, proposed by deputy Hervázio Bezerra, took place in the “Deputy José Mariz” plenary and was attended by federal prosecutor José Godoy, as well as representatives from all categories of street vendors in Paraíba.
The objective of this discussion, according to Hervázio Bezerra, is to listen to the category so that it can mediate, with city halls across the state, the category’s demands.
“But all of this has to be done with conciliation, where all entities assume their responsibilities. We know that they are fathers and mothers who provide relevant services throughout the state of Paraíba. So, nothing better than Casa Epitácio Pessoa listening to them, giving them the right to their voice, their complaints, their difficulties and what they think. Because they are the ones who best control the situation of informal commerce in our state,” he said.
Prosecutor José Godoy, from the Federal Public Ministry, congratulated the Legislative Assembly for the initiative, in the person of deputy Hervázio Bezerra, for taking on the discussion of this agenda, of institutionalized action in the defense of such an important economic segment. “Initially I come here to listen. And at the end of the listening, we will be able to have a position, a demonstration that we can forward these demands, at least at the federal level”, he declared.
“We are living in a unique moment”, emphasized street vendor Márcia Medeiros, president of the Association of Street Vendors and General Workers of Paraíba (AMEG). She denounced that street vendors are suffering all types of violence when they go to work in other cities “that promote public events, held with the people’s money and have closed their doors to receive the people”. “It’s something that has brought a lot of stress to our people, because we live and survive solely on events. These street vendors don’t work in other spaces in the city, they only work at public festivals,” she explained.
Among other demands, AMEG proposes that cities allocate 70% of the spaces to local street vendors and 30% to workers who come from other cities. For social worker Fernanda Muniz, general secretary of AMEG, street vendors are being criminalized when they travel to work in other cities.
“They suffer violence and it is everyone’s right to have a job and for that work to be dignified. In other words, we are dealing with families, with people, street vendors who should not be criminalized but should have their right respected, which is the right to work. Our fight is precisely so that we can guarantee the rights of these people who need to bring their livelihood home every day”, he added. According to her, there are, today, more than 2 thousand registered street vendors across the state, 350 of which are in João Pessoa.
