More than a hundred farmers and ranchers from Zamora cut off the A-6 highway near Benavente for several hours in the early hours of the morning. The road blockade turned into a tense confrontation between protesters and the Civil Guard. Protesters burned tires and lit a fire with branches in the middle of the highway, while the police responded with rubber projectiles and gas in an effort to disperse the crowd. It took nearly three hours to regain control, and the disruption created kilometer-long traffic jams along the route. [citation: local reporting]
According to a preliminary report, the protest appears to have left at least one person injured and there were isolated arrests. [citation: official updates]
The mobilization began around 11 p.m. when the Civil Guard moved to the highway. During the protest, dozens of vehicles remained held on the road for nearly three hours, with both lanes blocked in both directions. [citation: eyewitness accounts]
The exact cut occurred from kilometer 255 near Paradores de Castrogonzalo, a known hotspot for these farmer protests, to kilometer 260, on the outskirts of Benavente. [citation: road patrol reports]
Spontaneous Mobilization
The night-time protest was spontaneous, meaning there was no official communication to the Subdelegation of the Government, echoing the patterns seen in previous demonstrations. Social networks again played a central role in organizing the agricultural sector. [citation: social media analysis]
Nonetheless, the farmers themselves made the decision to end the mobilization and allow traffic to resume flow. [citation: participant statements]
The actions form part of the broader demand by the agri-food sector to revisit the agenda for 2030. [citation: policy context]