Farmers Rally as Unión de Uniones Plans a Mass March on Madrid
After two weeks of protests, Spanish farmers are advancing a bold move to push their agenda straight to the heart of the country. The Union de Uniones has announced a large mobilization: 500 tractors and 100 buses will gather outside the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on Wednesday, February 21. Organizers say the crowd could grow beyond that planned size. Participants will depart from various points across Spain on Tuesday, spend the night in towns near Madrid, and in the early hours of the following morning enter the capital via the six ring roads surrounding the city.
The reason behind the protest is simple and urgent. Of the 18 measures proposed by the minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, last week, activists from Unión de Uniones argue that not one will solve the sector’s ongoing problems. This claim came during a Monday press conference led by Luis Cortés, the group’s national coordinator. The march is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. in Plaza de la Independencia and proceed toward the Ministry of Agriculture in Plaza Cibeles.
Unión de Uniones has signaled that if Planes does not heed the call for change, the organization will escalate its pressure. A stronger push could see participants pivot toward the office of the Prime Minister. The group insists its goal is to push the ministry to alter its course or indirectly nudge the president to replace the minister. Among the top concerns cited by the union are losses from sales due to a lack of enforcement of the Food Chain Law and the burdensome bureaucracy surrounding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Unlike other groups such as Asaja, COAG and UPA, Unión de Uniones does not position itself as the government’s official intermediary. It portrays itself as a real voice for primary sector workers, free from subsidies. The movement, like the Platform 6-F, sits at the center of controversy. Some sectors view it as aligned with the far right, yet it has managed to channel farmer and livestock breeder frustrations into a variety of protests outside official channels. A notable moment occurred last July when hundreds of farmers and around 150 tractors gathered in central Madrid in a show of discontent, once again framed around concerns over water scarcity and rising production costs more than commodity prices. Those themes remain central to the moblizations taking place in February.
In the sequence of events, the protest plan also reflects the broader debate about agricultural policy and how it should be implemented across Spain and the European Union. The actions come as farmers push back against what they see as rising costs and increasingly complex regulatory requirements that impact their ability to operate profitably. The current wave of demonstrations underscores a broader sense of fatigue in rural communities that feel overshadowed by urban priorities and bureaucratic friction.
Past statements from union organizers hint at a broader strategy: to force a direct conversation with policymakers about practical relief measures and clearer regulatory guidance. The demonstrations are aimed at attracting wide attention to farming and livestock concerns and prompting a reexamination of how market rules, price supports, and administrative duties intersect with the realities on the ground for growers and ranchers alike.
Ahead of the planned events, observers note a tense political atmosphere in Madrid as rural organizations intensify their outreach. The protests reflect a significant moment where multiple farm groups are testing lines of communication with government ministries and European partners alike. The evolving dialogue centers on whether the CAP should be simplified and how administrative workloads can be reduced, especially for those who operate at the smaller end of the scale and rely on a fair balance between costs and returns in a volatile market.
Planas and the European Perspective
The focus extends beyond national borders as the minister seeks to persuade the European Union to rethink certain elements of the CAP. Planas has signaled a readiness to press the case at European level, including drafting proposals to reduce bureaucratic demands on farmers and ranchers. In a letter to the European Commission’s agriculture commissioner, Planas outlines concerns about the current CAP reform for 2023-2027 and acknowledges it has brought a significant shift in approach. Yet he adds that the first year of application has revealed not a simplification but a notable increase in administrative burdens for practitioners.
Planas uses every public forum to express worry about ongoing protests across Spain and argues that a productive debate is necessary at all levels of governance. He frames the CAP as a pivotal factor driving the protest movement, describing it as introducing new complexities and some stricter requirements that complicate agricultural work. He calls for urgent, concrete responses from European partners in the shortest possible time.
In his public remarks, Planas emphasizes that the conversation about CAP should be constructive and outcome driven. He says reforms should be guided by practical relief measures and streamlined processes that truly support farmers. The minister’s stance has important implications for both national policy and the EU-wide framework that shapes farming across Europe, including Spain. The ongoing discourse highlights a shared interest in creating more predictable rules and reducing unnecessary administrative red tape while preserving the integrity of food supply chains and fair market competition.
The unfolding events paint a picture of a sector at a crossroads. Farmers seek relief from mounting costs and regulatory complexity, while policymakers weigh the best route to sustain a resilient rural economy. The next steps will test how successfully dialogue can translate into tangible changes on the ground and whether the European framework can accommodate the lived realities of farmers, growers, and agricultural workers in Spain and beyond.
At the core, the protests represent a demand for clarity, relief, and a more balanced relationship between policy and practice. Whether the Ministry of Agriculture heeds the call or the scene shifts toward higher political offices, the message from union leaders and participants remains clear: the time has come to reexamine how the system serves those who produce the food that feeds the country and the region.