Last of the Zorreros

Zorreros, or horsecart families, listen to a speech today on Plaza Bolivar. 

The last of Bogotá's zorreros, or horsecart drivers, demonstrated today on Plaza Bolivar. The city has retired the thousands of horsecarts which used to clop along the city's streets and avenues, transporting loads and scavenging stuff for sale and reuse. The horsecart owners are supposed to receive compensation, including in some cases motorized carts to replace the horsecarts.

But the people protesting today say they were left off of the lists and did not receive their payments.

Brothers Luis and Andres told me that they weren't included in a 2010 census of horsecarts. As a result, they have not been offered compensation for their carts, which they are afraid to use because of the threat of confistication. "Our horses are going hungy and getting sick from being shut in," they told me. 

Children of horsecart families on the stage, in front of the Cathedral de Bogotá, on Plaza Bolivar. 

An artist makes a sketch at today's rally.  

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours