138 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



The Quiroga market, relatively of much more 

 importance to Tzintzuntzan, has been omitted 

 because of the thorough study which will appear 

 in the monograph of Donald Brand. 



LOCAL TRANSACTIONS 



In addition to markets, the trade economy of 

 Tzintzuntzan is based on its local stores. Few 

 are the housewives who do not make at least 

 one trip a day to a store to purchase a variety of 

 items. Purchases are usually for tiny amounts, 

 just enough to last through the day. Often, mis- 

 calculating, the housewife will again have to 

 return before the evening meal to restock. This 

 system of many minute purchases is undoubt- 

 edly related to the fact that many families have 

 insufficient capital to permit stocking up for 

 longer periods. At the same time, one of the 

 outstanding characteristics of the large Mexican 

 market is reflected on a local scale in this pat- 

 tern. The housewife likes to be sociable. The 

 daily purchases and the trip to the nixtamal mill 

 are her excuse to get out of the house, to ex- 

 change gossip, and to watch the world go by. 

 Even had she more money, it is doubtful that 

 she would change her buying habits in the inter- 

 est of greater efficiency, as well as possible 

 savings. In fine homes in large Mexican cities, 

 the daily trip to the market is a part of the priv- 

 ilege of the cook; were she deprived of this, 

 she would not stay, even at a high salary. Con- 

 sequently, the lack of a well-stocked larder in 

 the homes of Tzintzuntzan is reflected to an as- 

 tonishing degree in the homes of the wealthy in 

 large cities. 



The number of stores in Tzintzuntzan fluc- 

 tuates around a dozen. Eleven were listed at the 

 taking of the census in February; another count 

 in July showed 14. A man goes to the States to 

 work as a bracero and closes his store, or work 

 in the fields requires his urgent presence, so the 

 store closes. Or, another man, finding himself 

 in possession of a little spare money, decides to 

 try his luck and builds a counter in a room 

 opening onto the street. 



With one exception, all storekeepers are local 

 men, both Tarascans and Mestizos. Large stores 

 pay an annual tax of $5.80, while bars and 

 small stores pay $3.50. Inventories of six of 

 the larger stores were made, with results which 

 appear in table 19. Obviously, if not in one 



store one can buy daily requirements in another. 

 Inventories fluctuate, and for the most part one 

 large store duplicates the others in its offerings. 

 Almost without exception stocks are replenish- 

 ed from wholesalers in Patzcuaro, though some 

 maize, wheat, and beans may be local produce. 



Capital invested in stock varies consider- 

 ably. In March 1945, Jesiis Rangel, baker, de- 

 cided to branch out into general merchandise. 

 He estimated his initial investment at $2,000, 

 including some minor building alterations. 

 Other estimates of capital investment by store 

 owners are $1,500, $1,200, $1,000, and $400 

 respectively. If an individual is fortunate in 

 owning an adequate house centrally located, he 

 can go into business for himself with a much 

 lower investment than farming requires, though 

 far above that necessary for pottery making. 

 Competition is sufficiently stiffs, however, so that 

 storekeepers, though well off^, usually do not 

 become rich. 



A rather curious relationship exists between 

 storekeepers and their clients. All Tzintzuntze- 

 nos claim that local merchants charge prices far 

 above those of Patzcuaro, a claim with little 

 apparent validity. Nevertheless, they are de- 

 pendent upon them for their daily purchases, 

 and would feel deprived of an important social 

 outing if they could make all of their purchases 

 on Friday in Patzcuaro. In spite of this, there is 

 the constant feeling that the storekeepers are 

 trying to cheat, and that it is unfortunate one 

 has to buy at home instead of in Patzcuaro. The 

 storekeeper, on the other hand, is caught be- 

 tween two fires: that of having to buy at higher 

 prices than the large merchants of Patzcuaro 

 (and Quiroga) and sell at prices sufficiently low 

 so that the trade will not go to these towns. 

 Furthermore, in order to keep his clients he 

 must extend credit, a risky business at best in 

 Tzintzuntzan. The relationship of credit to cash 

 sales for five stores is shown in table 20. As in 

 the Patzcuaro market, sales drop appreciably 

 during the rainy season. 



Thus, on the average about one-fifth of all 

 sales are for credit, so that a large proportion 

 of the buyers owe money to the storekeeper. 

 Unfortunately for him, there is no way to force 

 collection of these debts. It is felt that this is 

 one of the inevitable risks which confront the 

 entrepreneur, and the sums are so small that 

 court procedures are not worth while. Debts are 



