The process of incorporation and permanence in street vending from the perspective of nontraditional labor

Abstract

This article is the result of an exploratory research process to analyze the phenomenon of street vending in the locality of Chapinero, Bogotá, from the perspective of social relationships that are characteristic of human labor. To this end, the paper takes up the concept of non-traditional labor, which, in the dominant research perspective on similar topics in Latin America, refers to precarious, atypical, or informal work, the latter focused on quantitative research that leaves aside qualitative or mixed approaches. This study used a mixed methodology: quantitative and qualitative, with the participation of 60 street vendors who responded to a survey type questionnaire; 12 of them agreed to be interviewed. The theoretical sampling ended when recurrences in the processes of incorporation and permanence were identified. As part of the results, the paper identified elements that shape the process of incorporation and permanence of vendors in the trade, as well as participation in social networks as constituents of the work.