The tractors will circulate again this Sunday in the center of Madrid in a new act of protest promoted by the Unión de Uniones organization, which foresees a massive concentration of up to 1,500 agricultural machines in a festive atmosphere that is also capable of bringing the countryside closer to the city.
This is the second demonstration that the agrarian organization promotes in the capital - after the one held on February 21 - and it does so under the motto "We still have plenty of reasons", to demand agricultural reforms and government measures to alleviate the crisis. of the sector.
Union of Unions, as stated, demands from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) "strong measures for the countryside", such as the protection of agricultural products from the European Union (EU) against imports from third countries, the development of a food chain law to improve its operation, and environmental requirements "proportionate and appropriate to the reality of the sector."
These are requests similar to those that have been made since last February 6, in various demonstrations and protest events, by the majority agricultural organizations, Asaja, COAG and UPA, and different groups of independent farmers.
The Government is negotiating with Asaja, COAG and UPA a series of measures, such as the proposal for exemption from the conditionality controls of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the voluntary nature of the digital notebook or the creation of a state agency to increase capacity inspection and law control of the food chain.
The Union of Unions does not participate in these work tables, whose state coordinator, Luis Cortés, has detailed that the Government Delegation in Madrid has authorized the entry this Sunday of 1,500 tractors, which will come from Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León , mostly.
The tractors will enter the city in five columns from different access points and will gather in front of the headquarters of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition starting at 10:00 a.m., in the Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz, and from there they will head towards the Ministry. of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Being Sunday, Cortés has pointed out that the Government Delegation has not limited the number of vehicles to the city, contrary to what happened in the call on February 21, and has insisted that the Unión de Uniones wants it to be an "act festive" to gain the support of consumers and families.
However, the Government Delegation has determined that only protesters will be able to access the place where the final rally will take place on foot and 80 tractors. At today's rally, in addition, a donation of 125 liters of olive oil will be made to Father Ángel's NGO Messengers of Peace.
The demonstration "wants to bring agriculture and livestock closer to the citizens, showing their work machinery and inviting all the boys and girls who wish to get on the tractor," the Union of Unions announced in a statement.
