The comment that stood out to me was someone saying “but that was 44 years ago”. I was a teenager then and poor people didn’t sell pencils on the street in 1980 either. It was an old trope from the 40s? 50s? Much like I’ve never seen an organ grinder with a monkey or poor children selling matches.
I’ve seen children selling gum in Tijuana but not matches. Bars gave them away last time I was there. Which was over 20 years ago to be fair.