This article presents a critical view of how peddlers were relocated to the 'popular malls' implemented by the Municipal Government of Belo Horizonte, with the purpose of enforcing the code of project Centro Vivo. The argument is that the officials' intention of cleaning up the city caused a disarticulation of the informal work of the peddlers and 'toreros' and increased the precariousness of their social and political working conditions. The media and city hall discourses were contrasted with the discourse of the peddlers, who were interviewed regarding their perception over this phenomena and its consequences for their work.
peddlers; city hall; informal economy; discourse analysis; popular mall