Villagers from Spain march to Madrid to protect rural life and economy

In the march organized in the center of Madrid with the call of the platform “Immediate Aid to Rural Life” (SOS Rural) and with the support of more than 300 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), residents, the central government and the local governments supported the defense of rural life, whose population is decreasing day by day.

Demonstrators from different areas of the villages, such as farmers, ranchers, transporters, hunters, toured the center of the city with their tractors and trucks.

Arguing that the left-wing coalition government’s environmental and animal rights laws endanger rural life and harm farmers here, the protesters claimed that measures taken against the drought were also insufficient.

Daniel Ruiz, spokesperson for SOS Rural, told the press: “The government’s policies are leading us to destruction. Irrational laws hinder national agricultural production and endanger the survival of producers. 85 percent of the laws enacted are made with the dictates of the European Union. Such a trend will only increase foreign dependence on agriculture and livestock. We need urgent help, ”he said.

The NGOs that participated in this demonstration, which took place before the municipal elections to be held on May 28 in Spain, said: “We are neither from the right nor from the left. Decisions made by both central government and local governments are not enough to solve the problems” and argued that their actions are no different from those of farmers in the Netherlands, Germany and France. (AA)