Rio street vendors to get allowance as Carnival canceled

Street vendors that would work during Carnival season in the city of Rio de Janeiro will receive a BRL 500 allowance, to be granted in a single payment on February 18. Carnival festivities had been scheduled to begin late in February.

The announcement was made today (Feb. 4) by the city hall and aims to fill the gap in the income of informal workers following the cancellation of samba school parades and the street parties for the second consecutive year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said more than 9 thousand vendors will be reached across the city.

“Street Carnival starts much earlier. There’s a whole production chain depending on Carnival. What we’re trying to do is build alternatives for this production chain. There’s a huge amount of people who will not work during this period. As a result, they won’t have this extra source of income.”

The city reported that Carnival in 2020, the last one the city of Rio de Janeiro had, saw the circulation of some BRL 4 billion as over two million tourists visiting the city. Vendors worked near more than 600 parades, divided into over 500 authorized street parties.