Spain is considered the fruit and vegetable garden of Europe. Now the farmers there are also taking to the barricades. They block roads and denounce the sometimes very low prices for their products.
After the farmers’ protests in Germany, France and other European countries, farmers in Spain are now also taking to the barricades. With hundreds of tractors, demonstrators occupied and blocked motorways, country roads and access to ports, wholesale markets and industrial areas across the country on Tuesday, as the TV station RTVE and other media reported. There have been rallies since early morning in numerous regions of the country, including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga and Zaragoza. In some cases there were traffic jams that stretched for kilometers.
Farmers and livestock farmers are demanding, among other things, fair prices for their products, the retention of the tax reduction for agricultural diesel, stricter controls for imports from non-EU countries and a reduction in bureaucracy. The farmers’ association COAG wrote on Tuesday on 880 percent.” It’s not much different with other products. They want to denounce “this disgrace” until “we get fair prices.”
Spain is considered the fruit and vegetable garden of Europe. Rally participants on Tuesday carried placards with slogans such as “Our end will bring you hunger.” In Valladolid, almost 200 kilometers northwest of Madrid, the arrest of a demonstrator who is said to have attacked a police officer was reported. Otherwise, the protests remained peaceful for the time being.
The three most important farmers’ associations in Spain, Asaja, COAG and UPA, called for these first practically nationwide protests. In the past few days there have already been the first small rallies in some regions. According to organizers, the protests will continue until at least the end of February.
Source: Stern
