BACKGROUND Markets are an important part of commerce throughout South America, in small villages and big cities alike. Some scholars assert that the market culture we see in South America today did not exist before European conquistadores arrived. Research has suggested that, at least in mountainous areas, pre-colonial economies were based around redistribution and reciprocity, not markets. Others point to the mention of market-like spaces in early writings of European conquistadores, suggesting that some form of market-based commercial exchange must have existed before the colonial era. While there may be some debate about the development of markets in South America, a modern observer cannot deny that markets thrive today as central social and commercial spaces in communities throughout the continent.
A crowded central market in Cusco, Peru demonstrates that markets still thrive as social and commercial spaces.
The modern South American market landscape is incredibly diverse. It includes catchall markets selling broad range of goods and highly specialized markets focusing on one particular category. It includes informal flea markets taking place on roadway medians, restored fish market buildings complete with fine seafood restaurants, and everything in between. As a first step to understanding this complex market landscape, we will start by defining what we consider to be a market. We’ve defined a market as a dedicated building or urban space with discernible boundaries that is devoted to the sale of consumer goods. This definition is meant to draw a distinction between individual markets and the broader concept of a market, which often includes urban market zones where stores and indoor malls selling a particular category of goods cluster together. If you speak to someone about markets in their city, they may refer to both of these types of spaces as a mercado, or market. For this study, we’ve chosen to focus on the more clearly defined markets instead of market zones.
Amazonas market in Lima, Peru is a specialty market focusing exclusively on books, old and new.
A “market zone” in La Paz, Bolivia, includes a street occupied almost entirely by furniture stores. PAGE 10 | BACKGROUND