With dozens of police and patrol cars, the Buenos Aires government deployed another security operation on Monday morning in the vicinity of the Retiro railway stations to prevent street workers from approaching the place. The police deployment made it necessary to implement a program of pedestrian diversions, transit and transfer of bus stops, while street vendors decided to concentrate in a square in the area awaiting a response from the authorities on their relocation, after being evicted from the place where they carried out their work on public roads.
The forcible eviction of the “manteros” began over the weekend. With the alleged objective of “reordering the public space” in the vicinity of the Retiro station in Buenos Aires to “improve the circulation of the 200,000 people”, the Buenos Aires police displaced dozens of itinerant workers who were setting up their stores in front of the railway head.
That is why on the same Sunday, a group of street vendors blocked Ramos Mejía avenue in protest of the measure and denounced the “lack of responses to the problems of street workers.”
This Monday, the Buenos Aires government deployed dozens of police officers and traffic agents in the area, and the vendors returned to gather in Plaza Canada, in front of the railway stations, to demand a response to be relocated to a place where “people can agree to buy us,” they said.
“We are waiting for the answer, we continue with our fight until we achieve a space. We are 200 families who live day by day with this. They told us that at 12 they will give us the answer. We are peaceful, we are workers,” said Zulma Benítez, who sells jewelry in the Retiro area, in statements to a television channel.
Another vendor added that one possibility is that they are relocated to internal streets: “We are waiting for answers to see what we can do, what they did to us is not worthy. We want to work, otherwise we will continue the fight,” she said.
The cuts in Retirement
The work plan for “reordering in public space” involves the intervention of 4,500 square meters of sidewalks and the stops of the transfer center with electrical installation and fine-tuning of furniture.
As reported in a statement, while the work lasts, two lanes of Ramos Mejía avenue will be enabled exclusively for pedestrian circulation between railway stations and seven bus stops and two taxi stops will be transferred.
There is a partial cut in José María Ramos Mejía avenue, between Antártida Argentina avenue and the access to the C line subway station, and pedestrian circulation is diverted towards the two lanes adjacent to the sidewalk on the side of the railway and bus stations. bus.
Regarding the relocation of bus stops, the stops of lines 28, 70, 75, 92, 100, 101 and 150 located on José María Ramos Mejía, between Avenida Antártida Argentina and Padre Mugica, are canceled and relocated on the inns that are located in front of Plaza Canada.
Thus, line 28 will have the same location as the stop of line 143; line 70 same as line 33; bus 75 will stop where number 20 currently does and line 92 will coincide with the 91 stop.
Meanwhile, line 100 will have the same location as the line 115 stop; 101 at the bus stop on line 5 and buses 150 will stop where line 108 currently do.
The rest of the lines and their stops were not affected by the works.
For its part, the entrances to the Belgrano Norte and San Martín railway stations are enabled through the side doors.
Meanwhile, the taxi rank located in front of the Miter line railway station continues in its usual location and the one located in front of the Belgrano Norte railway station operates parallel to the fences.
The stops located in front of the Bus Terminal operate on Ramos Mejía avenue in front of Antártida Argentina avenue.
