Thousands of agricultural producers began a march with tractors and trucks towards the capital New Delhi to demand better prices for their crops, a movement that revives the demonstrations of two years ago and shows the sector's rejection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies. . The police have responded with repression and tear gas to avoid blocking roads.
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Protesters have encountered barricades built with barbed wire and gigantic containers that prevent their entry into the capital's entrances and police pickets that confront them with tear gas to force them to retreat at checkpoints in the northern state of Haryana. leading towards New Delhi from Punjab.
The police have banned large gatherings in the capital city in the hope of curbing expressions of discontent that occur just months before the electoral process in which Modi seeks a third consecutive term.
So far, talks between the Government and farmers have failed to try to find formulas that guarantee minimum prices for a series of agricultural items, in compliance with what was agreed to achieve the lifting of the 2021 protests, when in the middle of the pandemic the Protesters camped for more than a year on the outskirts of New Delhi.
The producers are also demanding that the Government double their profits and forgive their loans, a commitment that the Modi Administration had already made with them, and that it establish a pension of 10,000 rupees per month ($120) for workers in the sector who have reached the 60 years.
Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda expressed confidence in “finding solutions” and “resolving any problem with discussion,” but government solutions have so far only benefited a very small group of farmers.
The Modi Administration announces minimum prices every year for 20 items, but only acquires two (rice and wheat) through state agencies, which impacts 6% of producers.
A long-standing fight
The protests in the agricultural sector began two years ago, when pressure from unions forced the Modi Government to withdraw three laws that were part of its controversial agrarian reform, which according to the protesters could cause a decrease in the prices of some items. .
On that occasion, the producers considered that the elimination of obstacles to trade promoted by Modi left them at the mercy of the vagaries of the market, without the protection that it represented for them to have the Government itself as a commercial partner as an intermediary in their relationship with the wholesale establishments. .
These protests, which had the support of figures outside India, such as the environmental activist Greta Thunberg or the singer Rihanna, reached the Red Fort in the capital, and kept the stability of the Modi Government in suspense.
A powerful block
Agriculture represents 15% of the Indian economy, which has turned its actors into a bloc capable of setting trends in the vote. In an election year, Modi faces the challenge of not losing the favor of this powerful sector.
Haryana and Punjab, the states most affected by the protests, provide 23 legislators in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament, and the complaints of the producers have found ears in the main opposition factor, the Indian National Congress party, which has announced a law that offers guarantees for the minimum price requested by farmers, if they come to power in the national elections next April and May.
For now, the conflict seems far from ending and a group of unions has called for a rural strike throughout the national territory for next Friday.
With AP and Reuters
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