A closer look
The black market isn't just a shadow; in places like Tepito, it is the entire sun. Informal street vending economies operate entirely outside the purview of the state, relying on cash, burner phones, and community-enforced syndicates to manage supply chains that rival Amazon in their logistical complexity. They import containers of gray-market goods, negotiate territorial retail spaces, and offer their own localized credit systems. It is hyper-capitalism stripped of all regulations, providing massive employment for populations completely abandoned by the formal banking sector.
