History is determined to set a new landmark for this year. The days when corruption and risk premiums dominated concern are behind us. The present is less about fear and more about facing enduring challenges with clarity. Today, the narrative of the past century—war, hunger, and the urgent need for resilience—casts a sharp light on where humanity has fallen short and where it can rise. This moment marks a clear turning point toward accountability and resolve, a genuine line drawn in the sand of history.
The invasion of Ukraine underscored the European Union as a united bloc, a union that began reshaping itself in the wake of the pandemic two years earlier. In this momentum, there is a recognition of the international body we all aspire to belong to, and a renewed confidence in Europe’s viability as a civilizational project. It was a challenge for voices from peripheral regions of the Old Continent to be heard, and for the wealthiest partners to fully grasp the needs of those regions. Yet the realization grew that Europe cannot endure without its diverse parts. The historical record split into differing futures, and the truth that endured was one of solidarity and shared responsibility.
Last Sunday, 3,000 farmers, ranchers, and hunters from across the province joined half a million fellow Spaniards in the monumental 20M demonstration to defend the rural world, a movement that sustained Spain and the miracle of feeding 50 million people at home and abroad. The people who animate the country’s meadows, mountains, and valleys gathered in Castellana to insist that their livelihoods, productivity, and future cannot be guaranteed by neglect or indifference. This vast rural realm operates under different economic rules than urban centers, yet it carries the same rights and needs, demanding a voice in national policy and regional planning.
The rural world faces deterioration when young entrepreneurs lack support and services, or when older generations are left without accessible clinics or banking. What Spaniards commonly call the countryside is not wilderness; it is a living landscape shaped by human action, a biological and social contract that requires ongoing stewardship. Sustainability means keeping the rural areas alive without abandoning urban growth on the majority of the land. Neighbors from the south and the coast defend agricultural livelihoods, while those from the north advocate for fair transfers. There is a call for double electricity tariffs, the enforcement of the Food Chain Law, tighter control of production costs, and rationalization of the Common Agricultural Policy, all aimed at safeguarding rural economies and their ecosystems.
Castellana’s humanitarian wave has grown into a banner that dissolves political objections when urgency and reality demand action. It highlights food sovereignty, the raw materials that underpin many industries, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and the protection of species—all while addressing climate realities from a practical starting point.
In these times, political life cannot afford perpetual centrism. The moment calls for clear choices. It seems illogical to invest heavily in advanced irrigation technologies and monitoring, while the actual water reaches the fields remain constrained. The critique is not only about infrastructure; it also targets policy coherence, ensuring that funds intended for sustainability genuinely translate into tangible improvements for farmers. At stake is a balance between innovation and accountability, between ambition and the practical delivery of resources to fields where they matter most. The same critique applies to labeling and market access, urging consistent standards that protect local producers without hindering fair competition.
This is the environmental cry where cities appear as mere outlines of concrete. Yet in these difficult times, there is a clear path: unity and solidarity as alternatives to fragmentation or decline. The 20M motto—Now and from now on, all together on the field—captures a pledge to collective effort, to stand with rural communities, and to invest in a future where agricultural resilience and ecological health go hand in hand for the common good.