Photo of the day: Where are the vendors evicted from the Los Chinos market

Holguin/The market known as Los Chinos is no longer where it used to be. Nor does it retain the same crowd, disorder or abundance of small stalls that for years occupied the surroundings of Plaza Lenin, in Holguín. Part of that activity has been transferred to the Gran Panel Fair, a state facility where authorized vendors are trying to rebuild, between wooden tables, improvised tarps and cargo vehicles, one of the main supply points of the city.

The images taken this weekend show a busy market, but far from the massiveness that distinguished Los Chinos. Customers walk through a large space surrounded by warehouses that were once dedicated to the construction sector. Some merchants protect their stalls with umbrellas; others have spread fabric over metal structures to escape the sun. Viands, fruits and grains are displayed on rudimentary tables, while motorcycles, tricycles and trucks share the space with buyers and sellers.

“Until now we haven’t seen the massiveness that was in Los Chinos,” he explains to 14ymedio a buyer. In his opinion, a considerable part of those who worked in the old market have dispersed after eviction. Many did not have a license or the authorization required to settle in the new location.

“The few that you see are the ones that have papers,” says a seller. According to his version, authorized merchants must present a document and periodically pay some type of permit, although he did not specify the exact amount or frequency of the payment.

The transfer is part of the so-called reorganization of the Los Chinos area, presented by the authorities as an operation to recover public spaces, eliminate improvised stalls and improve sanitary conditions. However, the Big Panel still does not look like a renewed market. Rather, it preserves the provisional appearance of a quickly organized solution to concentrate those who managed to prove that they could sell legally.

The difference with the old location is visible. In Los Chinos, the number of forklift drivers, small merchants, resellers and producers generated intense and, at times, chaotic competition. The concentration made it possible to find a varied offer and compare prices between numerous stalls, although it also caused accumulations of garbage, obstructions on the sidewalks and complaints from neighbors.

In Gran Panel, the supply seems smaller, but some prices have decreased. A hand of donkey banana that in Los Chinos cost between 250 and 300 pesos was sold this weekend for 180. A pound of red beans was 350 pesos and that of black beans, the most consumed variety, at 400. Mango was offered at 80 pesos a pound this Sunday. Other products remain out of reach for many salaries and pensions. A pound of rice costs 280 pesos, a pound of sweet potato 70, and bone-in pork reaches 1,000. A liter of oil sells for 1,900 pesos.

“The prices are not that bad. They are relatively lower than they were there,” says one customer, although he admits that the improvement is small. “It varies a little for the better.”

The official press presents a balance much more optimistic. The provincial newspaper Now! He assured that the forklift drivers and informal vendors who “illegally” occupied the Lenin neighborhood and made the area “impassable” were relocated to “legal zones.” According to the media, the reorganization returned “cleanliness, order and vitality” to the neighborhood.

Lenin Square, freed from vendors, was used this Saturday by the Union of Young Communists for a cultural and sports day of the Cuba Viva project. There were children’s games, artistic presentations and activities coordinated with the José Martí Brigade and the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder). The official publication celebrated the transformation of the former commercial hotbed into a space for “integration and healthy recreation,” although it does not guarantee a sustainable program of cultural activities.

The tour of Gran Panel, however, qualifies the story of a complete and successful relocation. The people of Holguin were wondering this Sunday what happened to the unauthorized merchants who were in Los Chinos.