Madrid will host thousands of farmers and livestock professionals who will take to the streets on tractors to protest the state of the primary sector. The event is expected to mirror the impact of the previous national demonstration, which disrupted traffic for most of the day and drew a large turnout. There were also clashes with police in some scenes during that protest.
Once again, the main farming organizations — Asaja, Coag, and UPA — have announced a tractor protest that will involve hundreds of vehicles and thousands of agricultural and livestock workers. The government has been more explicit about numbers, with plans to host about one hundred tractors. The national call brings participants from across the country to Madrid under the banner “The countryside demands support, respect, and recognition.” The sector has spent the past month taking to the streets to demand dignified conditions, with protests spreading nationwide and generating political concern. Farmers have signaled that they do not intend to suspend their mobilizations for now.
The chosen date is no accident: it marks the day of a meeting of the European Union’s Ministers of Agriculture in Brussels, where officials hope to uncover ways to address the global crisis facing the primary sector. Agriculture Minister Luis Planas has stated he will attend with a list of nine reforms aimed at calming the sector. The discussions are expected to explore potential flexibilization of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a core complaint from the sector. The meeting will also consider mirror clauses intended to ensure reciprocity with imports from third countries.
Itinerary and end point
According to the Government Delegation in the Community of Madrid, about one hundred tractors will depart at 9:00 a.m. from the Puente Viejo in Arganda del Rey, continuing along the M-208 and M-203 to reach Pirotécnica Street, Aurora Boreal Street, Avenida de la Democracia, Alonso Square, Casalarreina Street, Avenida de Daroca, and then along the M-23, O’Donnell Street, Menéndez Pelayo Street, the Infanta Isabel promenade, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food.
When the ministry is reached, protesters on foot will join, and the parade will continue along Paseo del Prado in the south-to-north lanes, then along Paseo de Recoletos and Paseo de la Castellana in the central south-to-north lanes to number 46 of Castellana, where the European Parliament’s Spain Office is located. A rally will take place there with remarks from leaders of the organizations that organized the call. The demonstration is scheduled to end at 3:00 p.m.
The tractors will return to Arganda del Rey by the same routes used to reach the city, but then they will turn from the Cibeles square toward Alcalá Street and rejoin O’Donnell Street to exit Madrid, accompanied by the Municipal Police and the Civil Guard.
Support across sectors
The fishing sector surprised last week by joining the farmers’ call and gathering at the European Commission headquarters in Madrid. They have announced they will distribute more than a thousand squid sandwiches to attendees, following a tradition of sharing local fare at such mobilizations. Their motto is: “For the future of fishing, aquaculture, fish markets, and consumer health in Spain.”
Representatives from all fleets and ports of the country, together with the aquaculture sector and specialty seafood trade, will participate under the auspices of the Spanish Aquaculture Business Association (Apromar), the Spanish Fisheries Confederation (Cepesca), the National Federation of Provincial Fishery Business Associations (Fedepesca), and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds (FNCP).
Fishermen criticize European Commission environmental policy, bureaucracy, competition from third-country producers they see as unfair, and the lack of incentives to encourage the next generation. They also call for reduced seafood taxes to stimulate consumption and for government collaboration on supporting a lower VAT rate for this product to boost intake.