Andrew Konove, "Black Market Capital: Urban Politics and the Shadow Economy in Mexico City" (U California Press, 2018)

Beyond the Margins: The University of California Press Podcast · May 3, 2021 · 34m

In Black Market Capital Urban Politics and the Shadow Economy in Mexico City (University of California Press, 2018), Andrew Konove traces the history of illicit commerce in Mexico City from the seventeenth century to the twentieth, showing how it became central to the economic and political life of the city. The story centers on the untold history of the Baratillo, the city’s infamous thieves’ market. Originating in the colonial-era Plaza Mayor, the Baratillo moved to the neighborhood of Tepito in the early twentieth century, where it grew into one of the world’s largest emporiums for…