The racism also lies in opponents intentional ignorance of and lack of respect for the eloteros, their poducts, their appreciative customers, their language and their culture. And Mell knows better. The 33rd Ward is an ethnic salad bowl, and it's no accident that he's more popular there than Daley. He could have allayed the fears years ago by leading people toward understanding. But he also knows exactly who votes who doesn't, who's organized and who isn't, and who is informed and who isn't.
People fear poverty, and the vendors symbolize that to some.
Now back to grand displacement conspiracies. And the people doing the pushing are predominantly white, and the people getting pushed out are predominantly people of color. Someone like Ald. Helen Schiller, who does not cater to that agenda, really sticks out. Mell's point person for the ordinance is Jaime Andrade.