Economic Outlook 2022 Part Two – Atencion San Miguel | English Version

By Carola Rico

Read Part One Here

In this edition we continue with the impacts that this global crisis is causing. This time we went to the Placita de los Martes in San Miguel de Allende, to talk with some tenants. They agree that the rise in prices, the new Covid variant, and unemployment are the main factors in the economic loss. 

Don Francisco (featured on the cover image) sells vegetables in all the street markets of the municipality. When I mentioned that sales are down especially in these mid-January, he said that each year is the same. This is due to the fact that people have spent a lot in the last part of the year. However, the pandemic is a factor that makes things worse, as people do not want to go to street markets for fear of getting infected. I also mentioned the increase in prices in basic products, not only fruits and vegetables, but also all groceries and property taxes. He said that he is hopeful that the situation will improve, so that things start moving and he stressed that the faster we adapt to the situation, the faster we will get out of it.

Mrs. Beatriz Valentina sells fruit juices and smoothies. She says that the situation is difficult for everyone and it shows in the low consumption of goods by people. She added that this is also due to unemployment that is prevalent, the rise in prices, and the pandemic further worsens the scenario for the start of the year. Beatriz says that in order to stay in the market, they can’t raise the prices of their products too much, because then they won’t buy them. 

Mrs. María del Refugio sells plastic products such as buckets, clotheslines and other things for the home. She feels that at this start of the year they have definitely not sold as they should for mid-January. She says that visits to the flea markets have decreased because people do not he wants to expose himself to getting infected. The stall tenants say that they follow all the health protocols to the letter since they cannot stop working, María del Refugio has been selling in the plaza for 8 years and says that this is the worst time due to the pandemic.

Carlos sells sound equipment and says that sales dropped significantly after January 5. For him it has become complicated because the wholesale prices of his merchandise have risen around 30 or 40 pesos for each piece, which makes it so much more difficult to resell. Carlos has been in the small square on Tuesdays for 5 years and he foresees that everything is going downhill. He knows people who have stopped working in the tianguis because they don’t have money for investment and as an employee, the salaries are very low. He added that unfortunately for him, people go to the small square mainly for vegetables or food, and his product is not essential.