Since 2016 in Mexico City, WIEGO has been supporting a local network of worker organizations representing street vendors, non-salaried workers (diverse groups operating in public space such as musicians at Plaza Garibaldi and shoe shiners), waste pickers and domestic workers to secure increased rights and protections and supportive policies.
Mexico City
Organ player Carmelo entertains passersby in Mexico City, sharing the music of his street organ. Photo by César Parra.
About Our Work in Mexico City
Goals What Are We Working to Achieve?
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Mexico City’s progressive constitution establishes a set of rights including both the right to mobility and the right to work in public space. In practice, however, the rights of pedestrians and cyclists are often prioritized over those of workers in informal employment and are even used to justify punitive actions towards these workers. In response, WIEGO has convened a local network of urban designers and mobility experts to support worker leaders in the development of proposals demonstrating the feasibility of harmonizing multiple uses of public space, for use in advocacy. WIEGO’s participatory urban design work in Mexico will increasingly focus on climate change adaptation at workers’ places of work.
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WIEGO has worked to combat entrenched stigma around workers in informal employment through media strategies that centre workers’ contributions to the economy, cultural heritage, and the environment. This includes work with local partners (worker organizations, technical partners, artists and journalists) on a participatory documentary film and multimedia campaign on waste pickers, and a book recounting the stories of non-salaried workers (including some of Mexico’s oldest occupations such as organ grinding and shoe shining). This work has been used for public education and advocacy.
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Featured Resource
The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment in Mexico, 2020-2023
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How We Work
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Research
We coordinate and support action research, statistical and budget analysis, and good-practice documentation to ensure workers have a strong evidence base to support their advocacy.
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Support to Workers’ Organizations
We build capacity and organizational strength through skills training, leadership development, coaching and overall support to membership-based organizations of workers in informal employment in areas they identify as priorities.
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Policy Advocacy
We walk alongside workers organizations to co-create innovative proposals for policy change, drawing on both lived experiences and technical knowledge of their sectors. We bring together workers’ organizations and allies in advocacy efforts to engage government and other stakeholders on these proposals and fight for reforms.
The Latest Statistics on Work in the Informal Economy in Mexico City
WIEGO does groundbreaking statistical work to help policymakers and workers understand the size and characteristics of the informal economy in cities across the world.
Access the latest statistics
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4.69 million
people work in informal employment in Mexico City
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51%
of total employment in Mexico City is informal
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24.4%
is the contribution of the informal economy to national GDP.
