Local Markets and Workers. Negotiations, Disputes and Ways to Make a Living in Buenos Aires, 1850-1870

Abstract

This article seeks to examine a series of encounters and disagreements between shopkeepers, workers of the markets of supply and agents of the municipality, in order to glimpse some of the tensions that emerged before the presence of public authority in the markets. It explores the demands of men and women in the markets, understanding that it is possible to record labor experiences –with their hierarchies, characteristics and dynamics– and some of the notions of fairness and rights that those who exercised them used or recreated before municipal interventions.