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“Trapitos” have become a fixture in Argentina’s gray economy, but lawmakers are deeply divided over their future as legitimate workers.
To most drivers hunting for a parking space in Buenos Aires, they are a scourge. At the city’s legislature, where debates about their business divide lawmakers, they are no more welcome.
Across the Argentine capital, trapitos, or ragmen, motion drivers to parallel park on public streets and, in return for a small tip, keep an eye on the cars. They earned their unofficial title because they wave rags to signal free spaces and guide drivers toward the curb.
Over the last decade, drivers have learned to live with the ragmen, but most abhor them. While the tip is often voluntary, many feel obliged to hand over cash because they fear the attendant will otherwise seek retribution by damaging their car.
Lawmakers have tried to tackle this subsector of Argentina’s gray economy, but it is such a contentious issue that debates serve only to highlight partisan fissures. In recent years, several bills from different political parties have failed—some sought to regulate the ragmen’s business; others wanted a police crackdown.
Argentina’s gray economy boomed after its high-profile economic collapse of 2001. As the country recovered and grew, immigration waves also spurred informal work. Authorities subsequently began discussing what they should do.
One of the first efforts to deal with the ragmen, who are mainly Argentine, was a bill proposed by city lawmakers from the Front for Victory, a center-left party that also controls the federal government. The bill proposed means-testing the ragmen and giving the poorest individuals licenses to work a specific block during a specific time of day. If they were reported to be extorting clients instead of taking voluntary tips, they would be punished with fines or community service. (A provision for this is already on the books, but as things stand, it’s almost impossible to enforce.)
The bill passed, but it was vetoed by Buenos Aires mayor, Mauricio Macri, of the center-right Republican Proposal party (Pro), which has repeatedly lobbied for prohibition over legalization. “We don’t believe a private individual should be able to claim ownership of a public space,” says Francisco Quintana, a Pro lawmaker.
Can Argentina s ragmen make it in the mainstream - Fortune
Then regulate it and for the reasons cited. It prevents extortion.
To most drivers hunting for a parking space in Buenos Aires, they are a scourge. At the city’s legislature, where debates about their business divide lawmakers, they are no more welcome.
Across the Argentine capital, trapitos, or ragmen, motion drivers to parallel park on public streets and, in return for a small tip, keep an eye on the cars. They earned their unofficial title because they wave rags to signal free spaces and guide drivers toward the curb.
Over the last decade, drivers have learned to live with the ragmen, but most abhor them. While the tip is often voluntary, many feel obliged to hand over cash because they fear the attendant will otherwise seek retribution by damaging their car.
Lawmakers have tried to tackle this subsector of Argentina’s gray economy, but it is such a contentious issue that debates serve only to highlight partisan fissures. In recent years, several bills from different political parties have failed—some sought to regulate the ragmen’s business; others wanted a police crackdown.
Argentina’s gray economy boomed after its high-profile economic collapse of 2001. As the country recovered and grew, immigration waves also spurred informal work. Authorities subsequently began discussing what they should do.
One of the first efforts to deal with the ragmen, who are mainly Argentine, was a bill proposed by city lawmakers from the Front for Victory, a center-left party that also controls the federal government. The bill proposed means-testing the ragmen and giving the poorest individuals licenses to work a specific block during a specific time of day. If they were reported to be extorting clients instead of taking voluntary tips, they would be punished with fines or community service. (A provision for this is already on the books, but as things stand, it’s almost impossible to enforce.)
The bill passed, but it was vetoed by Buenos Aires mayor, Mauricio Macri, of the center-right Republican Proposal party (Pro), which has repeatedly lobbied for prohibition over legalization. “We don’t believe a private individual should be able to claim ownership of a public space,” says Francisco Quintana, a Pro lawmaker.
Can Argentina s ragmen make it in the mainstream - Fortune
Then regulate it and for the reasons cited. It prevents extortion.
