It was business as usual earlier this month at the boisterous Lucas de Gálvez market.File photo
Sidewalks around Mérida’s biggest market have a little more breathing room this week.
City crews have replaced the makeshift stands on Calle 56, between Calles 65 and 65-A, with 30 stalls built to the same size. Each one now measures 1.5 by 0.8 meters, or roughly 5 by 2.6 feet. Before the change, some vendors had spread their goods across as much as 7 meters (23 feet) of sidewalk.
The city announced the project Monday, as Yucatán Daily News reported. It is part of a wider effort to bring order to the streets around the Lucas de Gálvez market, the busy hub a few blocks south of the Plaza Grande.
José Alfonso Lozano Poveda, technical secretary of the city’s Public Market Service, said the new layout came out of almost six months of meetings with vendors. In the end, about 15 selling spots were cut and 30 vendors were moved. Crates and bulky goods can no longer be piled beside or behind the stalls.
Shop owners on the block also pulled their displays back indoors. Crews with pressure washers cleared out about 2 tons (roughly 4,400 pounds) of garbage, according to La Jornada Maya.
“2026 is the year of order, and together we are working so that public spaces belong to everyone, so people can walk more safely and those who work in commerce have more dignified places to do their jobs,” Mérida Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada said.
Street vending is still allowed under city rules, Lozano Poveda said, as long as stalls stick to the approved size and leave room for people on foot. Talks have already started with vendors on Calle 54, the next street on the list. Officials expect that one to take longer because it is lined with bus stops.
A Year of Changes at the Market
Monday’s work builds on months of activity around Lucas de Gálvez. In May, crews removed 45 semi-fixed stalls and an informal motorcycle parking area from Calle 56-A in an early-morning operation. They hauled off more than 10 tons (22,000 pounds) of trash, cut illegal power hookups and took down an unauthorized bathroom and storage room.
In August, the city finished renovating the market’s seafood section and the stretch of Calle 56-A known locally as La Pepita. That project added more than 200 square meters (about 2,150 square feet) of pedestrian space, along with planters, benches and a coworking area. Last year, the market also opened a long-delayed new escalator to its upstairs dining area.
Shoppers have a new option, too. Mexico’s consumer-protection agency, Profeco, has set up stations with official scales inside the market. Buyers can weigh their purchases there and file a complaint on the spot if something seems off.
The market opened in 1887. It is named for Lucas de Gálvez, a Spanish colonial governor of Yucatán who was murdered in Mérida in 1792. Today more than 2,000 vendors sell produce, meat, seafood, spices, crafts and ready-to-eat food there.
Portal de Granos Gets a Facelift
The city has also started restoring the Portal de Granos, an arcade near the market that dates to around 1783. It takes its name from the grain trade once carried out under its arches.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, known as INAH, approved the plan. Workers will patch minor damage, restore the original finishes that let the stone breathe and bring back the building’s original features.
The work is scheduled for October and November. It falls to skilled craftsmen from the city’s Urban Development Department, a team that has worked on the historic center’s facade restoration program since 1996.
The city has not released a cost for the project. It also has not said whether businesses under the arcade will be affected while work is underway.
Fast Facts
- Location: Calle 56 between Calles 65 and 65-A, Centro, Mérida
- New stall size: 1.5 by 0.8 meters (about 5 by 2.6 feet)
- Stalls standardized: 30
- Selling spots eliminated: about 15
- Next street in line: Calle 54
- Portal de Granos restoration: October and November 2026
- Market hours: Open daily; mornings are busiest
- Weight complaints: Profeco scale stations inside the market
With reporting from Yucatán Daily News, La Jornada Maya, Líneas Emergentes, Por Esto and Posta
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