Concepción: the informal streetseller. The ephemeral production of space in the social crisis.

Abstract

Modern cities have a great problem: the myth of the power of technocracy (Lefebvre), where the produc­tion based on the institutional norms and rules (standard) of coexistence results in spaces full of contradictions (some tangible and others not so much). An example of an antithesis to that technocratic city may be the praxis of informal street trade that has historically produced ephemeral spaces, which at odds with the ontological sense, is perennial, i.e.., has resisted repression and oppression, and has also managed to maintain its functioning and right to occupy and inhabit the city. Thus, the popular revolution of the Chilean spring (October 18) has shed light on many different initia­tives regarding the forms of social representation and (re)appropriation of social and urban spaces, at a time when the desire of society is personified by thousands of protesters on the streets demanding dignity, justice and social rights. Facing this situation, the proposal of this article is to present the actions of the informal street trade work in the ephe­meral production of the space, whose result indicates a political instinct, an intuition and sagacity in its nature that has helped it to overcome the daily barriers, allowing it to resist and remain in the city. For this study, the experience of in­formal street traders in the city of Concepción, Chile, the third largest and most important in the country, is presented, where the number of these workers is telling and their behavior has attracted attention during the social revolution.