The transformation of public markets in Mexico City. Failed reproduction of the gourmet model
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Abstract
The political narrative in Mexico City has raised the idea of transforming certain traditional public markets into gourmet markets. The city authorities developed policies to support this commercial format without achieving the expected results, granting only insufficient funds to remodel their aging infrastructure. Our aim in this article is to examine the alleged transformation of Mercado de San Angel towards a gourmet market, by confronting the official discourse and information collected in interviews with tenants and customers before, during and after the remodeling process. As part of our conclusions we argue that more than achieving the transformation from traditional to gourmet, we find the participation of the private sector in the emergence of staged gourmet markets, aimed at sectors of the population with high cultural and economic resources, who are willing to pay for products and services framed in a consumption experience.