Around 1,500 farmers with more than 300 tractors blocked Madrid. The demonstration is against the agreement between the EU and Mercosur, as well as against cuts in the Common Agricultural Policy in the Community.
According to the protesters, the deal between European countries and Latin American countries will lead to the death of rural areas in Spain. Livestock breeders and farmers predict an invasion of agricultural products from South America, which will significantly reduce the economic benefits for farmers in Spain.
The protesters expect unfair competition, since South American products will enter with reduced tariffs and do not have as strict local regulations - health, environmental or labor - as those operating in European Union member states. This, farmers say, allows South American products to be cheaper, as their producers can reduce their costs.
As for the rejection of the new Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2028-2034, farmers have the support of the Spanish government and even the European Court of Auditors has expressed some criticism. In the European Commission's initial proposal, the budget allocated to agriculture and fisheries is 302 billion euros, a reduction of more than 20% compared to the current program.
The government and the opposition have exchanged heavy accusations over the train crash that killed 46 people in Spain. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's parliamentary hearing turned into a heated exchange of insults and qualifications.
The prime minister's intention to provide information about the investigation into the tragic incident of January 18 was met with a knife by the opposition. No new details were announced, but Sanchez once again stressed that the government would take all necessary measures to prevent similar disasters from happening again.
According to the leader of the People's Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the tragic incident could have been avoided if the authorities had listened to the numerous warnings from train drivers and eight national and European institutions. He said that the cabinet was playing Russian roulette with the safety of passengers in Spain. Feijoo called Sanchez a "liar" several times and accused him of a lack of respect and sensitivity to the memory of the victims. The chairman of the Popular Party warned that the prime minister and his ministers would face trial over the Adamus tragedy.
For his part, the prime minister launched a political attack, saying that the Popular Party was enabling the rise of the far-right Vox party. He then directly accused Feijoo of using disinformation to scare people in Spain.
In the end, after more than six hours of fruitless debate, neither the families of the victims nor the public learned more about the causes of the disaster, or about the specific measures that could prevent another such tragedy.