Thousands of farmers across Spain, called through social media and messaging groups, are blocking roads in many provinces and main access points to cities to demand improvements in the countryside and protest against European Union (EU) agricultural policies.
This Tuesday's protests (6) take place on the sidelines of mobilizations led by the main Spanish agricultural organizations, which are already planned for the coming days, and are the prelude to the large demonstration with tractors announced for February 21 in front of the Ministry of Agriculture of Spain, in the center of Madrid.
The farmers, who have the support of the so-called Platform in Defense of the transport sector – which announced an indefinite strike starting on Saturday (10) – also received the support of some cooperatives that closed this Tuesday in solidarity with their protest.
In La Rioja (north), a region where agriculture plays a major role, the protest took place without being communicated to the authorities, therefore it was not authorized to interrupt traffic, as is the case in Zaragoza (northeast), where tractors blocked the road. access to the city's wholesale market early in the morning.
Also in Catalonia (northeast), Valencia (east), Andalusia (south), Murcia (southeast) and Navarre (north), tractors blocked access to the main cities, such as Valencia and the port of Málaga (south).
The Ministry of the Interior stated that it will establish the necessary security measures to guarantee farmers' right to demonstrate without the exercise of these protests on the roads altering coexistence between citizens.
Farmers demand a reduction in the requirements of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), compliance with the law on the food chain – which eliminates so-called “selling at a loss” by farmers, the maintenance of tax reductions on agricultural diesel and help for drought that Spain is suffering.
The agricultural mobilizations in Spain are in addition to those currently taking place in other European countries, especially in France, Portugal and Italy.
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture insisted this Tuesday on the aid being given to support the sector, which was estimated at around 4 billion euros (R$21.3 billion) for farmers and ranchers in the last two years, of which 1.38 billion euros (R$7.37 billion) were extraordinary direct aid.
Among the reasons for the protests is the suffocation of the countryside due to environmental measures imposed by Brussels.
Earlier on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she will withdraw the proposal for a new law on the sustainable use of pesticides, which has failed in its current form in Parliament and the Council, and promised to involve plus the agricultural sector in the next project.
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