Columns of tractors advance towards Barcelona on the second anniversary of Revolta Pages
The farmers want to reach the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture
BarcelonaSeveral columns of tractors are marching from various points in Catalonia towards Barcelona, on the second anniversary of the Revolta Pagesa (Farmers' Revolt), to reach the Ministry of Agriculture on the Gran Via in the Catalan capital. There, they will protest what they denounce as the Catalan government's failure to comply with the European Union-Mercosur agreement. The farmers, however, have ruled out blocking roads in Catalonia, aware of the mobility difficulties caused by the commuter rail crisis and the closure of the AP-7 motorway. Nevertheless, their marches will further complicate traffic on roads already congested due to the train disruptions. The first columns have already gathered, departing from Bages, Berguedà, Osona, Girona, Vallès, Amposta, Móra d'Ebre, Tarragona, and Molins de Rei. Farmers are timing their protest to coincide with the second anniversary of the historic tractor protests that blocked roads in Catalonia. Revolta Pagesa has organized nine convoys, some with cars instead of tractors, planning to arrive around midday at the Department of Agriculture on Gran Via. The group says it wants to highlight the "key factor" of farming and livestock and also plans to provide an update on the negotiations with the Catalan government. "The government must honor its commitments," they warn. The protest is expected to last all day, and some farmers intend to spend the night in front of the Department of Agriculture. On Saturday, they have scheduled "protest and informational actions" until 2:30 p.m. The mobilization comes almost three weeks after farmers took to the roads to protest the EU-Mercosur agreement.
Farmers want to recreate the scene from February 2024, when more than 2,000 tractors from across Catalonia slowly marched to Barcelona to denounce the critical situation facing the sector. During several days of protest, they blocked roads, some even at the border, to demand government policy changes.
