Traditional markets in Mexico

Section of Diego Rivera mural showing a scene at the Tlatelolco market

Mexican traditional fixed markets and a number of other business practices have their origin in pre Hispanic or Mesoamerican trade and markets. Archeological evidence has shown that the Olmecs were probably the first culture with a system of trading networks that spread over what is the center of Mexico. Later cultures with vast trading networks include the Teotihuacans and the Maya.[5] Local products as well as those obtained from trading networks were distributed through local markets called "tianguis" (Nahuatl for "market"), generally set up on certain days.[10] Mesoamerican markets were based on the trading of items, with certain very valuable items such as cacao beans serving as currency.[4] This type of market consists of a number of stands set up by vendors, on a plaza, often designed for that purpose.[5] Often these merchants as well as tradesmen and other business were grouped together by product or service.[10] There were also specialized markets in certain products such as salt in Atenantitlan, dogs in Acolman and slaves in Azcapotzalco and Iztocan.[5]

The most active trading routes were along the Mexican Plateau centered on the Valley of Mexico, whose lakes make transportation of goods easier using boats.[4] The largest Mesoamerican trade network and market system was developed by the Aztecs, who brought valuable goods from distant lands such as jade, cotton, cacao, and precious metals. The main plaza of Tenochtitlan, which roughly corresponds with the Zocalo, was the city's main market at first. This became insufficient and after taking over Tlatelolco, the main market for the area was shifted to there, due to its easy access to lake and canal transportation though La Lagunilla, a small cove.[5] The most important markets were located in Tenochtitlan, Tlatelolco, Azcapotzalco and Tacuba. The largest was Tlatelolco followed by Tenochtitlan, where not only commercial activity took place, but political activity as well.[7] The Tlalteloco market drew between 20,000 and 25,000 people each day to buy and sell. Every five days, was "market day", drawing between 40,000 and 45,000 people as there would be a far greater variety of merchandise. These markets sold everything from basic foodstuffs, to slaves, to exotic items from distant lands to precious metals such as gold.[7]

In the past and the present, traditional Mexican markets reflect the local culture both in what they sell and in how they are sold.[4] Many pre Hispanic elements survive to this day, relatively unchanged. A "tianguis" refers to a market of stalls set up for the day by vendors and taken down at night. More traditional tianguis are periodic, usually weekly, but tianguis in cities may be set up and taken down each day. Small businesses and trades can still be found grouped together in certain areas of cities and markets with specialties, such as Mercado de Sonora, still exist.[5][10] Pre Hispanic markets has altars inside them for the gods, a practiced continued, but with altars usually to the Virgin Mary or Christ.[4] While these practices are still strongest in former Mesoamerican areas, tianguis and other market practices can be found in various parts of the country.[25]

Model of a colonial era market at the Museo Nacional del Virreinato in Tepotzotlán.

Firewood and other basic needs at the Thursday weekly tianguis next to the municipal market of Villa de Zaachila, Oaxaca

The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire mostly did not change commerce patterns in Mesoamerica. Tenochtitlan, renamed Mexico City, remained the center of the economy, with traders bringing merchandise from all the same regions as before. Markets remained outdoor affairs, with individual temporary stalls set up in plazas. Cacao beans would remain as a form of currency until as late as the beginning of the 19th century.[5][7] Within the Valley of Mexico, the lakes and canals remained the main way of getting goods, especially agricultural products to market in the city and would remain so until their drainage would make them disappear by the end of the 19th century.[5] One exception was that the great Tlatelolco market never recovered from the conquest and disappeared, replaced by the Mercado de San Juan, which was first located in the area where the Palacio de Bellas Artes is now, and then moved to the main square of the rebuilt city, today called the Zocalo.[5][10]

The main changes brought to commerce by the Spanish initially was the introduction of the wheel, which expanded trade routes and the variety of products regional markets could offer, the introduction of coins and the introduction of crops, animals and other merchandise from Europe.[4][5] The last made the biggest impact. As early as 1541, indigenous peoples were growing, selling and consuming crops such as radishes, lettuce, pomegranates, peaches, quince, apples and figs.[25] Many craft technologies, such as glazed pottery were also produced and sold; however, the most prized items in colonial markets would be manufactured items from Spain.[5] Another change was the introduction of new agricultural techniques, which diminished the amount of human labor needed. This would create an indigenous and mestizo class of tradesmen in carpentry, pottery, canoe making, locksmithing, ironworkers and much more. As in the markets of old, these new craftsmen would group together into certain sections of town. Carpenters, locksmiths and ironworkers were found on Tacuba Street, sheepskins were prepared and sold in La Palma neighborhood, tanners in San Hipólito and San Sebastián and potters were found on Santa María street. However, not all businesses grouped together. Tailors, bacon makers, shoemakers, bricklayers, bakers and bars selling pulque tended to disperse.[4]

What are now the traditional public retail markets found in Mexico were the result of efforts to regulate and replace tianguis with more modern forms of commerce. The first regulatory step came in 1580, when grain producers were prohibited from selling directly to the market. Instead, they were required to sell to the colonial government, which then stored the grains in large warehouses called pósitos or alhóndigas to sell to the general market.[5][7]

The establishment of the Zocalo as the main market square meant that commercial development in Mexico would begin here and then spread outward to the rest of the territory.[10] This also meant that the square would be a crowded, chaotic mass of stalls, with various attempts to clear it over the colonial period, with little long-term success.[26] This is because despite all the attempts by civil and religious authorities to control the markets, the indigenous market never disappeared.[5][10] By the end of the 16th century, a number of indigenous markets were permitted to set up, so that these people could sell their own products, especially in areas then far outside Mexico City such as Tacubaya. Eventually, they began to sell in the main plaza in Mexico City, weekly at first, then daily.[25]

Attempts to regulate the tianguis commerce in the Zocalo led to the establishment of several formal markets. However, these markets would never eliminate tianguis commerce in the plaza.[10] The first formal market was the El Parían in 1703, after a major fire in the city. It was originally established as a common market, with all of the Zocalo's vendors inside. However, the building was not large enough, and the structure's space requirements pushed remaining outside vendors into the areas belonging to the cathedral and government building.[10] This market then became space for the various guilds of the city to market their wares.[4] By the end of the 18th century, it would become the market for the upper Spanish and Criollo classes, selling imported merchandise such as that brought be the Manila Galleon.[10][25] This was the market's height. After this time, it would slowly decay until it was demolished in 1843.[10]

With the upscaling of the El Parián market, vendors selling to commoners were pushed into two other markets, El Baratillo and El Volador. The El Baratillo was established in 1793, initially with the name of Cruz del Factor.[4] It was on the Zocalo as well, and specialized in handcrafts, secondhand items and food to the lower classes. It was also known for the sale of stolen merchandise as well. Over time, this market would draw thieves and other delinquents and have a reputation for being dangerous. This market would eventually be moved to an area now called Tepito.[10][25] The first market established off the Zocalo was the El Volador at the end of the 18th century where the Supreme Court of Mexico is now. It was the first market run similarly to traditional retail markets of today, and became the main market for the city after the El Parián and El Baratillo disappeared.[4][25]

As the colonial period continued, more fixed markets and more regulated tianguis were established outside the Zocalo, including Santa Catarina and La Lagunilla.[10] The Zocalo itself would have several commerce centers. These would include the Portales de Mercaderes, the Portales las Flores and Portales la Diputacion, stores affixed to several of the main buildings surrounding the Zocalo. However, the Zocalo would remain filled with vendors until the 20th century.[5] At the end of the colonial era, markets and tianguis in the city were grouped into three categories. One corresponded to the area in and around the Zocalo. The second most important group of markets was on the periphery of the first group. There were groups of fixed stands made of wood in places such as the plazas of Santa Catarina Mártir, La Cruz del Factor and Las Vizcaínas. The third group consisted on non permanent stands even further away from the center of the city. These included the tianguis of Jesús, La Cal, Santa Ana, Carbonero, Mixcalco and others.[4] During the last century of colonial rule, "estanco" or government monopolies were established on the production and commercialization of certain products, such as tobacco, gunpowder, playing cards, cured hides, salt, mercury and ice (which was brought by mule cart from the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanos).[4]

Traditional market practices for Mexico were established and best developed in Mexico City. After the Conquest, other areas in Mesoamerica continued their traditional commerce patterns, with Spanish authorities then regulating them and building fixed structures. In areas outside of Mesoamerica, such as Jalisco, there was no major pre Hispanic market system, so that of Mexico City would be transplanted in the new areas. Guadalajara's market history began on the plaza of the Teatro Degollado when the city's general market was established in 1606, following the Mesoamerican tradition of "market day" every five days as a tianguis. After a fire in 1795, covered vending stalls called "portales" were built of adobe and stone for the market. Later a "Parián" market, much like the one in Mexico City was established, with the portales demolished in 1855. Like in Mexico City, the various markets and merchants were often segregated by district, with soap producers in Zacoalco, boot makers in Sayula, chairs and tapestries in Atoyac and cheese in Tizapán. Following Mexico City, merchants adopted the fixed market system to make themselves more visible to the public. Modern markets were built in the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries including Mercado Corona in 1891, Mercado Libertad or San Juan de Dios in 1896, Mercado Alcalde in 1897, Mercado Mexicaltzingo in 1900 and Mercado Sebastián Allende in 1905. Some others were built later, such as Mercado Zalatitlan in 1920 and Mercado IV Centenario in 1941. However, this city would abandon the traditional market model fairly early in favor of supermarkets and chain stores. New such markets were not constructed again until the 1960s, and then only in new neighborhoods created by the growth of the metropolitan area.[1]

After the end of the Mexican War of Independence in 1821, the markets initially had momentum as restrictions against imports were lifted and other measures to free the market had a positive effect. However, for much of the 19th century, the country's political instability would hamper market development and food distribution, with most remaining sold in small tianguis with large, formal markets only in the largest cities.[5][7] The economic situation began to stabilize in the latter 19th century, especially the last decades under the Porfirio Díaz regime. This government took steps to begin to regulate and modernize the food distribution system by establishing official monopolies called tendajones or estanquillos.[5]

In 1844, a new building was constructed for the El Volador market. The market would be destroyed and terminated by fire in 1870.[10] A number of major markets in Mexico City were either established or formalized during this time. In 1850, the new Mercado de San Juan, also called Iturbide, was inaugurated. The first permanent structure now known as La Merced was constructed between 1861 and 1880. This structure was built to house much of the commercial activity in the area, as well as absorb the vendors of El Volador, which had closed. At this time, the area was still along a major canal called La Viga, filled with docks to receive incoming merchandise to the city from Xochimilco, Chalco and Texcoco.[4][5][25] By 1887, there were nine main markets in the capital. In the north, there were the Santa Catarina, Santa Ana and Guerrero markets; in the south, the Mercado de San Juan; in the east La Merced and San Lucas and in the west Dos de Abril and San Cosme.[4] By the end of the century, these were joined by the La Lagunilla market in 1893, the Loreto Market in 1889, and Martínez de la Torre in 1895.[4][5] At this time as well, more modern forms of commerce would begin to appear in Mexico, such as the establishment of department stores, led by Liverpool and Palacio de Hierro, which still exist.[7]

Mercado Juárez was opened in 1912, the last major market to open before the Mexican Revolution brought market development to a halt.[4] The war disrupted food production and distribution with the abandonment of haciendas, lack of manpower in the agricultural sector and the disruption of transportation systems.[5] With the exception of the Abelardo L. Rodríguez market in 1934, there were no new markets constructed in Mexico City, other than small ones for newly established neighborhoods in the growing city.[4][5] Outside of Mexico City, formal markets were still be introduced to replace older tianguis. The installation of fixed structures to replace tianguis did not always go well. In Xalapa, Veracruz a new, modern and at the time, spacious market was built and promoted in the 1940s to replace the weekly market at the Plazuela del Carbón. However, at first no one would go and shop there, making it a distinct failure. It took fifteen years of efforts to make the market accepted and profitable.[8]

In the 1950s, the government began to replace a number of markets, which were stalls made of wood and lamínate, with modern buildings. During the presidency of Adolfo López Mateos (1958-1964) eighty eight markets were constructed in Mexico City.[4][5] Mercados sobre ruedas (markets on wheels) was a concept implemented in 1969, to give agricultural producers a means to sell directly to consumers. The idea was that an association of producers could seek permission to sell their produce in a particular spot on a particular day of the week. However, many of these associations became dominated by intermediaries rather than by the farmers themselves, as the producers could not spend many days selling their merchandise.[5] Today, "mercados sobre ruedas" is used to refer to informal street vendors who sell in large groups but generally can be found every day in the same location, rather than on market days, such as tianguis. According to INEGI, about 23 percent of the population earns money in the informal economy, with includes the mercados sobre ruedas and tianguis.[4]

During the rest of the 20th century, commercialization patterns for food and other staples were strongly influenced by the United States, with the introduction of concepts such as supermarkets and convenience stores.[10] The current retail situation in Mexican cities varies widely. On one end, there are a myriad of small corner stores (called mesceláneas, expendios de abarrotes or tienditas) and on the other are major supermarket and department chains such as Comercial Mexicana, Walmart, Liverpool and others.[4][5] These types of markets now account for eighty percent of food sales in Mexico City.[10] The appearance of supermarkets has diminished the sales in many markets. For example, sales at the market in Colonia Industrial were cut by half when a supermarket opened nearby in 2009. Although mercados usually have better prices and fresher produce, the rundown conditions of many is one factor why many consumers prefer supermarkets.[11]

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