Farmers block roads in Spain with tractors

Thousands of farmers blocked roads with tractors in different regions of Spain this Tuesday (6), in protest against European agricultural policy and the precariousness of the sector.

Called by the 'União de Uniãos', a federation of agricultural unions, and groups organized on WhatsApp, the protesters gathered on the roads since dawn, mainly at the entrance to some large cities.

With Spanish flags, banners that said “Our end will be your death” and some wearing yellow vests, farmers demanded concrete measures to deal with the difficulties they face in carrying out their activities in the field.

According to the General Directorate of Traffic, blockages or congestion occurred on several roads, mainly in the provinces of Toledo (center), Seville (south), Murcia (southeast) and Girona (northeast).

The port of Malaga, in the south, reported on social media that its access was also blocked.

“There is an accumulation of circumstances that force us to take to the streets,” a cereal producer told AFPTV, citing, among the reasons, “the excessive bureaucracy that consumes a lot of resources” and “the low prices” at which they have to sell their products. products.

“The field has to leave” to protest, added this farmer, who did not want to give his name.

The message is similar to what was announced by the three main agricultural unions in Spain, Asaja, Coag and UPA, which did not participate in the mobilization this Tuesday, but called for other demonstrations in the coming days.

Representatives of the three unions, who criticize a complex European policy, excessively restrictive laws and competition considered unfair due to the entry of foreign products, met on Friday (2) with the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas.

The minister pledged to “work” to resolve the crisis in the sector.

The meeting, however, did not calm tempers, and the unions maintained their call for protests – similar to those carried out by farmers in other European countries.

– Historic drought –

“This government understands the concerns of the sector, we take responsibility and, from the first minute, we work hand in hand with them,” left-wing government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría said at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to Alegría, 140,000 farmers will benefit from aid worth 270 million euros (R$1.4 billion) granted by the government.

Moments earlier, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, told public radio RNE that the government is “enormously empathetic” to farmers, who face “bureaucratic burdens” and a historic drought.

“It is necessary to modulate European sustainability objectives, the so-called Green Europe, at the pace that the primary sector in Europe demands”, assessed the socialist minister, who, however, criticized the political “manipulation” of concern for the sector.

The far-right party Vox, the third strongest in Parliament, is very critical of the European Green Pact, which includes ecological transition measures in the agricultural sector, and accuses it of wanting to “destroy” agriculture in the Iberian peninsula.

Spain, often described as the “garden of Europe”, is the main European exporter of fruit and vegetables. However, the Spanish agricultural sector is facing difficulties, mainly due to the drought that has hit the country for the last three years.