Camelô

Camelô is a Brazilian Portuguese name given to street vendors in major Brazilian cities.

Law enforcement often enters into conflict - sometimes physical - with camelôs, for selling low-quality products (often imported from Asia), making improper use of public space (blocking sidewalks and pedestrian traffic), and for not paying the same taxes that licensed retailers pay. Their presence is considered to be a result of the alarming rise in unemployment, although their lifestyle might be better referred to as "subemployment." Many people who work as camelôs sell their products knowing that they are of low quality, and charge high prices nonetheless.

The word is borrowed from the French "camelot," meaning "merchant of low-quality goods," and the term "marreteiro" is also sometimes used. The difference between camelôs and so-called "ambulantes" is that camelôs have fixed "storefronts" on a particular sidewalk, whereas "ambulantes" sell their wares throughout an area.