On Friday, February 13, a street vendor reordering operation on Avenida Ribera de San Cosme in Cuauhtémoc led to cross-accusations of violence between Mayor Alessandra Rojo de la Vega and Deputy Diana Sánchez Barrios. The mayor reported an attack by over 200 people on her team, while the legislator accused borough staff of violently removing previously relocated stalls under an agreement.
The confrontation took place during a public way reordering operation on Avenida Ribera de San Cosme, where Mayor Alessandra Rojo de la Vega stated the number of street stalls increased from five to 22 with City Government permits that have not been shown. In a live video, Rojo de la Vega recounted waiting one hour to dialogue with Mexico City government representatives, but they were ambushed by over 200 people she claimed were sent by Morena Deputy Diana Sánchez Barrios. 'I was waiting to dialogue, and the only thing they did was set a trap for us and send all of Diana Barrios's people, the Morena deputy, to beat us,' the mayor declared.
Rojo de la Vega displayed in a video from the Mexico City Attorney General's Office injuries to her right cheekbone, arm, back, and hip, noting several borough workers were also injured, though she was protected. She stated she has videos of the events and held Sánchez Barrios, a leader of Historic Center vendors, responsible for the assaults. She also questioned the exponential growth of street vendors in Mexico City and mentioned extortions against merchants. Miguel Hidalgo Mayor Mauricio Tabe expressed solidarity with Rojo de la Vega.
For her part, Deputy Diana Sánchez Barrios, in a statement, accused borough staff of violently removing stalls that had been relocated over a year and a half ago under an agreement to free spaces at the Glorieta de Insurgentes roundabout. 'Borough staff went to violently remove members of the popular commerce,' she stated. She announced legal advice for those affected and defended the vendors, though she does not preside over the Pro Diana organization. Sánchez Barrios denounced that Rojo de la Vega's government violates rights to favor real estate interests, seeking 'a borough without people, gentrified and expensive.' She also mentioned the mayor's anger over denunciations of simulated tenders costing 97 million pesos. No arrests have been reported so far.
