The virulence of the rural revolt overwhelms the Government: "If you eat it is thanks to us"

David Vigario Merida

Merida

Updated Tuesday, February 6, 2024-23:25

The

15M agricultural yesterday exceeded all forecasts

, including those of the Government, which was caught off guard by the massive monitoring of the tractor units throughout Spain. There were road closures, including several highways, traffic collapses in numerous cities and even attempts to boycott some logistics centers. Since there is no clear leadership to address in this movement and most farmers join on an individual basis, no one knows how long it will last or, more importantly, what the next step will be.

For now, the marches are held without a clearly defined calendar, to avoid pressure and thus challenge police control: "Without fields and without livestock, there is no table in the kitchen," they shouted at most rallies, among the thousands of people. tractors that, in columns, took over the roads where the majority of drivers were patient and showed solidarity with the problems of the agricultural sector: "When you come across one of those cuts in the road,

remember that you eat three times a day thanks to them

" commented Pilar, a rancher from Valladolid, from her TikTok account, the platform where the revolt mainly originated.

"

We are not going to collect the tractors

until [Minister] Planas changes his mind," it was noted from Almendralejo. In the distance, a possible shortage on the shelves, although it is still early for that. "Without the field, you will not have food."

The 6F social platform that calls itself "independent", born in WhatsApp groups, Telegram and other social networks, has turned out to be a tinderbox that is followed en masse, and threatens to paralyze the country in the coming days: "

We refuse to take a step back

, we are not going to settle for this injustice and it is time, now or never, to unite in a common front, our cause is unstoppable," they point out in their profiles.

The next appointment will be on Saturday. A new movement to demonstrate the real strength that the F6 movement continues to have, but this time also accompanied by part of the transporters (the Platform in Defense of the transport sector, also the unofficial ones), who have announced that they will support this agrarian movement 2.0 .

He has had the virtue of anticipating

time by 48 hours and being the first to collect the breeding ground installed in the field. With the mirror of the main European countries in recent weeks (Greece also joined yesterday), he only needed to be shown the way, to set a date and time, and for the powder keg to explode because the problems are common (excessive environmental rigor, bureaucracy , low prices and a blind eye to imports from third countries).

This platform took the flag before. That was his great success. "

This had to break out

somewhere because the reality of the countryside has been bleak for a long time, it was a clamor and they have appeared just at the right time," reflects an agricultural source.

With common problems, the three large agricultural organizations - whose representation is obtained at the polls - had summoned their farmers, after resolving all the documentation and obtaining the necessary permits, for this coming Friday in several provinces (and on the next 14th another large appointment , all united). But they already lost the media pulse at least yesterday. They are also accused from that platform

of "caste" and of being "co-responsible"

for what is happening in the countryside, in addition to pointing fingers at politicians and bureaucrats, Spanish and European.

Pedro Barato, president of ASAJA, expressed "absolute respect for the farmers and ranchers who have come out to protest their situation," but at the same time defended the continued work of these associations over time and confirmed their calendar of their mobilizations, authorized by The authorities.

The important mobilization also caught the Government without reaction and decided not to go all out. He let the mobilizations act freely throughout the day, even though almost none of them had permission from the respective Government Delegations to cut roads, most of them secondary, and some highways.

The State Security Forces and Corps, which had monitored the movements on social networks - even infiltrating some groups to capture communications - did not intervene except to take license plate documentation for some fines and to regulate traffic. There were no notable incidents either, only one arrested in Valladolid at dawn for pushing an agent.

"

The problem is that we don't know how this is going to stop, and with whom and what they are going to negotiate

," an agricultural representative told EL MUNDO yesterday. He was referring to the fact that this movement, in principle "independent" and that does not have identifiable faces beyond Lola Guzmán. And, above all, that no one really wants to take responsibility for what happens on the streets.

The Valencian livestock farmer, spokesperson for the newly formed Platform 6F, assured in statements collected by the EFE agency that the response from the farmers yesterday was "spectacular" and at the same time demanded direct dialogue with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas . He precisely stated that the Government maintains dialogue with agricultural organizations because "it is the only way to move forward."