<![CDATA[This article examines the challenges faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as modern retail chains such as Alfamart and Indomaret continue to expand across Indonesia. The expansion is analyzed as a concrete expression of neoliberal capitalism that has reshaped economic relations at the local level. Through a critical political-economy approach and systematic literature review, this study investigates how neoliberalism fosters unequal competition between large capital and the people’s economy, while tracing the structural consequences for small traders and community livelihoods. The findings reveal that modern retail growth has produced structural economic inequality, shifted community consumption habits, and been sustained by government policies that favor large investors over small businesses. Against this backdrop, the People’s Economy (Ekonomi Kerakyatan) grounded in Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution offers a viable alternative paradigm built on solidarity, equitable distribution, and economic sovereignty. Practical measures include cooperative revitalization, MSME digitalization, affirmative policies requiring local product quotas in modern retail, and local government regulations that limit minimarket expansion. This study concludes that national economic sovereignty depends on the protection and genuine empowerment of MSMEs as the backbone of an equitable people’s economy.]]>
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