The field keeps its pulse with a new round of protests in several Spanish cities after a day that caused major collapses in Catalonia, the environs of Madrid and the south of Spain. Neither the backtracking of Brussels’ anti-pesticide plan, nor Pedro Sánchez’s commitment to more control over prices and the food chain, nor the outstretched hand of Pere Aragonès served to calm the agrarian tide. Mobilizations continue today in many parts of the country and are expected to continue throughout February.
Of all the cities, Barcelona was the most affected yesterday by the unrest in the countryside. A historic march with 2,000 tractors advanced from Lleida, Tarragona and the center of the territory to converge in the heart of Barcelona after noon. Some of the main roads, such as Avinguda Diagonal or Gran Via, were partially paralyzed, with numerous resulting traffic problems, and were used as parking lots for tractors. Some of the farmers have spent the night parked in the city center at the risk of returning to their destinations – some had to make journeys of up to ten hours back. The Generalitat allowed the stay after the president Pere Aragonès and the councilor of Acció Climàtica, David Mascort, met with representatives of the 6-F movement in Catalonia and some of the most representative organizations in the sector, such as the Union of Farmers , the Agricultural Association of Young Farmers, the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Catalonia and the Association of Young Farmers and Cattlemen of Catalonia. While the meeting was taking place, hundreds of farmers gathered in Plaça Sant Jaume, where moments of tension were experienced. Throughout the afternoon, hundreds of farmers expressed their dissatisfaction with the city center and demanded solutions for the crisis the sector is experiencing. Fair prices, a ban on unfair competition, less bureaucracy and a brake on new environmental rules focused the demands. Maskort assured that he understood their claims and called the sector to a new meeting in about a fortnight to analyze measures that could lead to a better situation. “It’s time to be by his side, not to announce anything”, they emphasized in Palau.
Pending concrete solutions with the Generalitat, the Catalan camp assured that it is ready to maintain the battle. “This does not end here”, insisted the representatives of the farmers. After this first demonstration of strength promoted by the 6-F movement with the support of Unió de Pagesos, the union has called a new mobilization on February 13.
In the rest of Spain, the representative associations of the countryside begin today their demonstrations in “unity of action”. Asaja, COAG and UPA have planned around thirty tractor rides throughout February in different provinces. The first are celebrated in Ávila, Huesca, Ciudad Real and Salamanca. Its promoters asked yesterday for the support of “all kinds of neighbors”.
The same associations assessed with interest the announcement by Pedro Sánchez in the Congress of Deputies on a reinforcement of the food chain law. The Ministry of Agriculture plans to hold a meeting of the food chain observatory on the 14th in which it could specify some measure, depending on the evolution of the protests.
From the department led by Luis Planas, they refer to the increase in means of the AICA, the food information and control agency that is in charge of checking that the regulations are complied with in the sector. The Government is also prepared to study new measures related to agricultural insurance and to work on proposals to simplify the CAP through a working group. Regarding the mirror clauses, which would strengthen control over non-EU products, the Executive has recognized that it is in the minority to promote this measure in the EU.
The distribution, which yesterday already began to be affected by the farmers’ protests, called on the demonstrators not to paralyze “the free movement of goods and people” and asked the Ministry of the Interior for measures to guarantee transport. The large supermarkets reported delays and incidents on their platforms in Catalonia, Madrid, Castilla y León or Levant, among other areas, although they pointed out that they do not foresee supply problems at the points of sale. “Although all the demands are legitimate, not all the ways to try to achieve them are”, they defended.
