“We are not the gardeners of Europe”

From the famous ’15M’ to ‘6F’ of the agricultural world. Between that social rebellion (later political) and the rebellion now springing up by farmers and herders, there are many parallels and a common connection: fatigue against the elite, this case bureauFools who make laws with their backs to the countryside. “You bring people from offices here and They wouldn’t know a holm oak from a cork oak“, they repeat again and again. “We are not the gardeners of Europe nor are our farms hotels for pets, we are dedicated to producing meat and milk, that is our job,” they say with indignation. Said. Lorenzo RiveraPig winner at the Palacio de Abajo (Zamora).

There has been a breach and they can’t take it anymore. It’s exhausting from bottom to top. Today the initial signal has been given to mobilizations – which have been exemplified in a large part of European capitals – whose results are still unpredictable due to a fundamental issue: they are supported by nascent platforms that “claim to be”Independent“And it also brought the political “caste” and agricultural union world into the limelight. Taking advantage of the fact that the breeding ground was latent, they, through WhatsApp groups, denied any kind of political connection in principle. Have begun to organize themselves, but in the context of the elections in Galicia and the European elections in a few months. So they have not waited for the official calendar of the three big organizations (ASSA, COAG and UPA)Who had agreed to remove the tractors from Thursday.

“We don’t need you, the road belongs to everyone,” the chief promoter repeats, lola guzman, in the proliferation of videos in recent times. ‘6F Civil Mobilization’ is the name of the group that today threatens the collapse of half of Spain. “Becoming non-governmental”, “civil disobedience” or “end partisanship” are some of their mottos and they already have representatives in almost all Autonomous Communities. In many cases, government delegations from each region have not authorized concentrations or disruptions of this platform. Mercamadrid could be one of the key points today Or access to the Spanish capital via the A2 in Torrejón de Ardoz. At least that’s what they try to do. The result will be seen as the state security forces and corps work round the clock to thwart mobilizations that are not carried out by those responsible. Yesterday, the Spanish Confederation of Freight Transport (CETM) warned that these protests are not similar to those experienced in France, which has caused losses to the road transport sector of more than 120 million euros.

common problems

The truth is that no matter who is leading the rebellion, the problems are common across the region. Donaciano Dujo, in grainist palanciaCondemns that “massive” imports of grain from Ukraine have blown up the market “falling prices”, The resulting campaign “has been disastrous, we are not profitable and there is excessive bureaucracy at all levels” which also affects “over 70% of all farmers in Europe”. Thus, he explains that “animal groups” are optimizing the entire regulation of CAP.

From Almeria, farmer Andres Góngora“We have traditionally called for greater controls on imports from third countries in order to create a balanced market for fruits and vegetables in Europe,” explains the expert in fruits and vegetables. And he says that the message of “food sovereignty that should be in the European market, with France being the only exception, trying to impose its market” is spreading rapidly. Thus, he emphasizes that “misunderstood environmental protectionism should be redirected as the farmer is the first interested party because we work in that environment, but whatever is accepted has to be discussed and agreed upon. Needed.”

Lorenzo Rivera, in Zamoraclarifies that “this anger is not new” although perhaps the agricultural sector reacted late and when the implementation of the new CAP rules and its environmental pressure was already a reality: “It is not the case in the rest of the world, they Only in Europe they are not so strict about ‘green’ conditions and there is no way to adjust it so that production is profitable. This is just the beginning…