The farmers finally protested in the heart of Madrid after almost a month of mobilizations throughout Spain.
Some 500 tractors arrived this Wednesday afternoon at Puerta de Alcalá, according to the Government Delegation, and then headed to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The rallies, called by the Unión de Uniones organization to protest the precariousness in the countryside, had their moments of tension when some protesters who tried to overcome police restrictions confronted riot police.
The Ministry once again advocated giving a joint response to the sector from the three spheres in which decisions are made: the European Commission, the Government and the communities.
The field landed in Madrid.
And it did so after platform 6-F had tried, unsuccessfully, on two previous occasions.
This Wednesday the farmers came with greater organization, with five columns that had to converge on the capital from various locations.
Tractors and buses from Extremadura, Castilla y León or the Basque Country came to the march, with flags and banners stating the problems in the countryside.
This tangle of marches, which Minister Luis Planas asked to be “peaceful,” caused multiple traffic problems on the outskirts of the capital, with several roads closed at rush hour.
Citizens were warned and, perhaps for this reason, traffic on public transport in the capital increased by 3% compared to any other day.
Starting at noon, the problems moved to the city center.
At 11:00, the police had allowed 500 tractors to reach the center and prevented another 150 from entering, according to official sources, and 1,000, according to the organizers.
Already in the capital, many people welcomed the tractors with applause.
“We are very grateful for all the support we receive because it is a very big effort we make to travel here,” says farmer Miguel Sánchez, 23, who had spent the night in Arganda del Rey.
The young man assures that the three times he has gone out to demonstrate in recent weeks he has noticed that people understand his struggle and that he is happy when, from the street, those passing by stop and give him a thumbs up.
“The other times we have gone out to protest have been on the roads and the truth is that I never thought I would enter Madrid with my tractor,” Sánchez admits.
They were accompanied by about 4,000 people (13,000, according to the organizers' calculations), who complained about the decision to block the passage of some of the protesters.
Preceded by the soundtrack of the
Indiana Jones saga,
the state coordinator of Unión de Uniones, Luis Cortés, announced
that they would push for all farmers to come to the center.
“The demonstration here is not moving,” he warned.
That is to say, they threatened not to start the march to the Ministry of Agriculture until everyone was there.
A row of tractors passing through the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid, this Wednesday.
Alvaro Garcia
Tractors parked in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture in Madrid.Álvaro García
Several tractors arrive at the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid, this Wednesday.
Moeh Atitar
Several protesters confront police officers at Puerta de Alcalá, this Wednesday.
Eduardo Parra (Europa Press)
Column of tractors on Alcalá street in Madrid.Álvaro García
Arrival of tractors at Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid, this Wednesday.
Moeh Atitar
A woman on a terrace on Alcalá Street in Madrid observes the column of tractors during the protest this Wednesday.Álvaro García
Several police officers detain a protester during farmers' protests in the center of Madrid, this Wednesday.
Mario Bermudo
Arrival of tractors at Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid, this Wednesday.
Moeh Atitar
Farmers from various parts of the Peninsula gather this Wednesday in the center of Madrid. Mariscal (EFE)
Farmers and ranchers have lunch during the protest on Alcalá street in Madrid. Álvaro García
Arrival of several tractors at Puerta de Alcalá, this Wednesday. Alvaro Garcia
Dozens of riot police officers monitor the concentration of farmers, this Wednesday in the center of Madrid.
Mario Bermudo
A farmer drives her tractor through Puerta de Alcalá, this Wednesday.
Alvaro Garcia
A young man carries a poster against the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, during the protest this Wednesday in the center of Madrid. Álvaro García
Concentration of farmers in the center of Madrid, this Wednesday.
Moeh Atitar
A rancher holds a halter during the farmers' rally in Puerta de Alcalá, this Wednesday.
Carlos Luján (Europa Press)
A street vendor sells umbrellas and Spanish flags during the farmers' demonstration, this Wednesday in Madrid.
Mario Bermudo
Dozens of tractors travel down O'Donnell Street this Wednesday.
JUAN MEDINA (REUTERS)
Several people applaud the entry of the tractors into Madrid as they pass through O'Donnell Street.
Sergio Pérez (EFE)
A line of tractors upon arrival at Madrid's Puerta de Alcalá, this Wednesday.
JUAN MEDINA (REUTERS)
Farmers from various parts of Spain travel through the center of the capital with their tractors.
Marshal (EFE)
A row of tractors circulate along O'Donnell Street, this Wednesday in Madrid.
SERGIO PEREZ (EFE)
Hundreds of farmers gather at the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid, this Wednesday.
Carlos Luján (Europa Press)
Some police cars escort a group of tractors upon arrival in Madrid.
Sergio Pérez (EFE)
A group of farmers gathered this Wednesday in Madrid's Puerta de Alcalá.
Carlos Luján (Europa Press)
Police device near the Plaza de la Independencia, in Madrid, where farmers from various parts of the Peninsula are gathered this Wednesday.
Marshal (EFE)
Riot officers speak with a group of farmers who have blocked the A-42 near Torrejón de la Calzada (Madrid).
JUAN BARBOSA
Tractors concentrated in the Plaza de Las Ventas in Madrid.JJ Guillén (EFE)
A group of farmers cuts the A-42 near the Madrid town of Torrejón de la Calzada. JUAN BARBOSA
Several Civil Guard agents are trying to prevent the closure of a section of the A-42 near the Madrid town of Torrejón de la Calzada.
JUAN BARBOSA
A group of farmers are arrested after their attempt to cut a section of the A-42 near the town of Torrejón de la Calzada (Madrid).
JUAN BARBOSA
A group of farmers tries to cut the A-42 near Torrejón de la Calzada, this Wednesday.
JUAN BARBOSA
A row of tractors in the vicinity of the A-42 near Torrejón de la Calzada, this Wednesday.JUAN BARBOSA
A farmer places a Spanish flag on one of the 250 tractors parked in a field in Torrejón de la Calzada (Madrid).
JUAN BARBOSA
A combine harvester, this Wednesday in the tractor parade along the A-42 near Torrejón de la Calzada (Madrid). JUAN BARBOSA
Dozens of tractors concentrated on the A-42 near Torrejón de la Calzada.
JUAN BARBOSA
Civil Guard agents monitor the concentration of tractors in the town of Torrejón de la Calzada (Madrid), this Wednesday.
JUAN BARBOSA
A farmer protests from his tractor on the A-42 near Torrejón de la Calzada (Madrid).Daniel Gonzalez (EFE)
The disagreements between farmers and the Government Delegation led to moments of tension, in which the riot police even acted to contain a group of protesters who tried to go down Alcalá Street towards Congress.
Despite the protesters' threats to prolong the rally, the march dissolved around 5:00 p.m., the time established by the organizers in the communication sent to the Government.
They put an end to a day in which they once again cried out against precariousness in the countryside and asked to reduce the bureaucratic procedures they face to receive subsidies.
Bureaucracy and administration ruin my exploitation
;
There are plenty of papers.
Solutions are missing
, were some of the slogans that were read on the posters and chanted in the street while drums sounded or the noise of firecrackers sounded.
The message seems to have penetrated the Ministry.
In fact, the head of Agriculture, Luis Planas, was forced in Congress in the morning to stop during the control session due to vertigo.
“I have overactivity,” he said later to reassure the minister, who last week already launched a plan of 18 measures to alleviate the crisis in the countryside.
The one in Madrid, in fact, was not the only demonstration in Spain.
Also this Tuesday the tractors left mainly in Córdoba, Gran Canaria and Murcia.
Even so, protests also occurred in Aragón, near Magallón (Zaragoza) or in Cáceres.
In Palencia, there was even a children's tractor parade.
Outside the capital, the most significant march took place in Malaga, where, according to the police, a thousand farmers (twice as many according to the organizers) took over the city center along with a hundred tractors (300, according to the organizers) to send the same messages to the Ministry.
Dozens of mayors from various parties (PP, PSOE and IU) have joined this march.
In this case, there was no incident.
With information from
Juan José Martínez
,
Juan Navarro
and
Victoria Torres.
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