Torreón will stop renewing permits for street vendors in the Historic Center

Starting this month, the Municipality of Torreón will suspend the renewal of temporary permits for street vendors in the Historic Center, as part of a strategy to restore order to public streets and improve the city's urban image.

Víctor Ramos Galindo, head of Plazas and Markets, explained that upon taking office, he found himself faced with more than 200 permits for informal businesses, many of them granted verbally by leaders of organizations without official support. Since March, the agency has worked to regularize the situation, notifying merchants that this would be their last permit and that the permits would be gradually phased out.

He noted that the main objective of the measure is not to eliminate street vendors, but rather to reorganize them into more suitable spaces to ensure better urban mobility and improve the city's image. Among the options proposed by the City Council for relocation is the Old Flour Mill, but merchants have shown resistance to the change and have not proposed another space.

Ramos Galindo emphasized that the presence of street vendors on streets like Hidalgo and Juárez continues due to concessions granted by previous administrations, which continue to be renewed annually. However, the municipal government is working on new strategies to regulate street commerce without affecting the merchants' income.

Additionally, the situation of the commercial modules that have been used as warehouses instead of sales spaces in Cepeda and Valdez Carrillo is being analyzed. This has generated conflicts with municipal regulations, which stipulate the cancellation of the concession if the premises are not open for 15 days. In this regard, the official said that the Directorate of Plazas and Markets is seeking a legal solution that will allow these modules to be reassigned to vendors willing to operate in an orderly manner.

Ramos Galindo said the relocation and regulation process will continue in the coming months. , seeking a balance between urban development and the commercial activity of street vendors, whose presence remains a key factor in the city's economy.

He indicated that, through dialogue with merchants and their representatives, the municipality continues to explore solutions to ensure the continuity of their activities without affecting mobility and access to established businesses.

"We are looking for spaces that allow for organized relocation without affecting merchants or the urban image," he said.