they got a picture for future generations. Moreover thousand tractors I’m wandering around the big streets of Barcelona. Even warrior French farmers couldn’t pull off this photo in Paris. This Wednesday, Catalan farmers brought the slogan of their protest to the Catalan capital: ‘La nostra fi, la vostra fam’ (“Our end, your hunger”). Hundreds of tractors from Lleida, Girona and central regions such as Tarragona and Ebro protest banners already honking horns and clapping and cheering. Many passersby filled the city streets to make their voices heard. After a day we’ve had different tool columns They set out for the Catalan capital in the early afternoon, at a slow pace they managed to destroy Diagonal and Meridiana streets as well as Gran Via or Aragó street.
In addition to provoking applause and cheers from many passersby with its demands, the pitch unleashed political conflict in Catalonia, where both the opposition used it as a weapon against the ERC Government; As in Congress, where the PP began to imitate Vox’s tactics by blaming Brussels for many of the sector’s problems. In this context, our Head of Government, Pedro Sánchezcommitted to “strengthening” food chain law for prevent farmers and ranchers from selling at a loss.
“We are tired, but we are tired of everything”, farmers and ranchers claim, after ‘parking’ the tractor in the middle of the Diagonal, at the intersection with the Gràcia Pass, and then removing chairs, tables and even a grill and planting it on the road. “Take your time now,” they joke. They go to dinner after five o’clock in the afternoon. They left Fondarella (Pla d’Urgell) a few minutes after seven in the morning, in a hellish fog, and after many had spent the night blocking the A-2 motorway. They say they’re not tired, but they should be.
“It was exciting”
They were the subject of numerous demonstrations of solidarity and support along the 136-kilometer route, which they covered in more than seven hours. “In many cities, people went to the bridges on the highway and applauded and encouraged us… It was exciting to be a part of it.“, confessed a young man who joined the tractor group in Tàrrega. And with this feeling, at least the feeling of feeling understood by the citizens, they come to Barcelona a little more hopeful.
There are many (and also many) young people in the mobilization this Wednesday. It is not for nothing that, because of them, due to the change of generations, these protests spread to half of Europe and, although a little late, found a significant echo in Spain.
“we had to come hereto the capital, first, so that they could see us, so that they would know that we were people like them and not residents of an Indian reservation… And secondly, it was clear that the politicians were not coming. see us in Lleida or Amposta,” reflects David, one of the new farmers joining the action.
They don’t forget why they came
Spokespersons of the different pillars meet with president Pere Aragonès and Climate Action council member David Mascort at the Palau de la Generalitat Catalan. farmers and ranchers devote themselves to the festival. This is the atmosphere since the protests began on Tuesday, never forgetting the demands they carry under their sleeves: Food entry from non-EU countriesto reduce bureaucratic burden the aspects they support European agricultural policy, PAC, stifling Mediterranean producers and drought plan criterialeaving farmers with only 20% of the irrigation water supply.
Amid the climate of demand, business organizations called on the authorities, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to take “necessary measures”. Guaranteeing the free movement of people and goods. Given the current situation, organizations feel that although all demands are legitimate, not all means of achieving them are legitimate. Organizations at different links in the value chain (primary sector, industry and food distribution) have long warned about the huge impact of regulatory pressure on all operators, both at European and national levels, and especially at European level. current inflation situation.