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‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo

By on September 26, 2023

This brief analyzes the legal and political struggles of street vendors in São Paulo between 1990 and 2023. It is based upon several months of empirical and documentary research, which included online and in-person interviews with street vendors’ leaderships and their allies (lawyers, public defenders, city council members, and representatives of local and international NGOs).

Key Points

The institutionalization of social dialogue is an important step towards more just regulation of informal vending, but alone it does not ensure that outcome.

In addition to seeking venues for formal participation within state decisionmaking, street vendors’ organizations should maintain a lively space of political mobilization outside state institutions.

To be truly successful, the use of legal tools and litigation by movements and organizations of workers in informal employment must always be intertwined with political action and community organizing.

The state is not a neutral actor: it embodies the ideology and goals of the political groups who direct it. Therefore, in their interactions with the state, workers’ movements and organizations must be attentive to whom the political actors in charge are and what political ideals they pursue.

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Citation Information

Assis, Mariana P. ‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo. WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15, , . WIEGO, 2023. https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wiego-organizing-brief-15.pdfAssis, M. P. (2023). ‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo. WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15, , . https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wiego-organizing-brief-15.pdfAssis, Mariana P. "‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo." WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15, WIEGO, 2023, .Assis Mariana P. "‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo." WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15 (2023). https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wiego-organizing-brief-15.pdfAssis, M P 2023, '‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo', WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15, , . https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wiego-organizing-brief-15.pdfMariana P Assis, '‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo' (2023) WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15 Assis M. P. ‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo. WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15. 2023. https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wiego-organizing-brief-15.pdfAssis, Mariana P. ‘Whose Law? Our Law!’: Critical Reflections on Legalization, Social Dialogue and Street Vendors’ Organizing in São Paulo. WIEGO Organizing Brief No. 15. 2023. , . https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wiego-organizing-brief-15.pdf

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