Black Market Capital : Urban Politics and the Shadow Economy in Mexico City

For more than three hundred years, Mexico City’s __Baratillo__ marketplace was synonymous with crime, vice, and the most disreputable elements of urban society. Despite countless attempts to disband it, the Baratillo persevered, outlasting Spanish colonial rule and dozens of republican governments. In the twentieth century, transformed the neighborhood of Tepito it into a global hub of black-market commerce. __Black Market Capital__ argues that the Baratillo and the broader shadow economy—which combined illicit, informal, and second-hand exchanges—have been central to the economy and the politics of Mexico City since the seventeenth century. The Baratillo benefited a wide swath of urban society, fostering unlikely alliances between elite merchants, government officials, newspaper editors, and street vendors. Vendors in the Baratillo turned their market’s economic appeal into political clout, petitioning colonial and national-era officials and engaging in the capital’s public sphere to defend their livelihoods. Using records from municipal and national archives in Mexico City, newspapers, travelers’ accounts, and novels, __Black Market Capital__ reconstructs the history of one of Mexico City’s most enduring yet least understood institutions. It provides a new perspective on the relationship between urban politics, the informal economy, and public space in Mexico City between the seventeenth and the twentieth centuries. "In this extraordinary new book, Andrew Konove traces the history of illicit commerce in Mexico City from the seventeenth century to the twentieth, showing how it became central to the economic and political life of the city. The story centers on the untold history of the Baratillo, the city's infamous thieves' market. Originating in the colonial-era Plaza Mayor, the Baratillo moved to the neighborhood of Tepito in the early twentieth century, where it grew into one of the world's largest emporiums for black-market goods. Konove uncovers the far-reaching ties between vendors in the Baratillo and political and mercantile elites in Mexico City, revealing the surprising clout of vendors who trafficked in the shadow economy and the diverse individuals who benefited from their trade"--Provided by publisher In this extraordinary new book, Andrew Konove traces the history of illicit commerce in Mexico City from the seventeenth century to the twentieth, showing how it became central to the economic and political life of the city. The story centers on the untold history of the Baratillo, the city’s infamous thieves’ market. Originating in the colonial-era Plaza Mayor, the Baratillo moved to the neighborhood of Tepito in the early twentieth century, where it grew into one of the world’s largest emporiums for black-market goods. Konove uncovers the far-reaching ties between vendors in the Baratillo and political and mercantile elites in Mexico City, revealing the surprising clout of vendors who trafficked in the shadow economy and the diverse individuals who benefited from their trade. For more than three hundred years, Mexico City's Baratillo marketplace was synonymous with crime, vice, and the most disreputable elements of urban society. Despite countless attempts to disband it, the Baratillo persevered, outlasting Spanish colonial rule and dozens of republican governments. In the twentieth century, transformed the neighbourhood of Tepito it into a global hub of black-market commerce. 'Black Market Capital' argues that the Baratillo and the broader shadow economy, which combined illicit, informal, and second-hand exchanges, have been central to the economy and the politics of Mexico City since the seventeenth century Cover Black Market Capital Title Copyright Dedication CONTENTS List of Illustrations and Tables Acknowledgments Introduction 1 • A Pernicious Commerce 2 • The Baratillo and the Enlightened City 3 • Shadow Economics 4 • The Dictator, the Ayuntamiento, and the Baratillo 5 • Free Trading in the Restored Republic 6 • Order, Progress, and the Black Market Epilogue: The Baratillo and Tepito Appendix Notes Bibliography Index