Farmers protesting EU's Mercosur agreement bring Madrid to a halt with tractors

Описание: (11 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Madrid - 11 February 2026
1. Various top shots of protesting farmers driving tractors down central avenue
2. Wide of farmers, rural workers and other protesters gathered outside of Ministry of Agriculture
3. Exterior of Ministry of Agriculture
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Rodrigo Llamas, cereal farmer from Cuenca:
"Mercosur is our ruin. If the agricultural sector is already somewhat ruined, then Mercosur would be the final blow for this sector. Because we don't know if there are uncertainties, as we haven't been informed. In any case, we are not well informed, we don't know what it is."
5. Wide of protest
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jessica Perez, goat breeder from Albacete:
"Well, we are here precisely to protest against Mercosur, against the 2030 Agenda, and against the countless bureaucratic procedures that suffocate us every day. Because, in the end, the people here in the Ministry are the ones who want to decide what happens on our farms, and no one knows better than us what happens on a daily basis."
7. Various of protest
STORYLINE:
Spanish farmers have driven approximately 500 tractors through Madrid to protest against low incomes and an EU trade deal with South America.

The protest took place Wednesday, causing traffic disruptions as the tractors moved toward the Ministry of Agriculture.

Farmers are demanding immediate action to protect Spanish food security. They say rising costs and strict regulations are squeezing their earnings.

They also oppose the EU-Mercosur trade deal, fearing it will flood the market with cheaper imports.

The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed the long-sought free trade agreement last month with the aim of strengthening commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.

Mercosur consists of South America's two biggest economies, Argentina and Brazil, as well as Paraguay and Uruguay.

Rodrigo Llamas, a 57-year-old Cereal farmer from Cuenca, is worried that domestic producers like him will struggle to compete with cheaper imports.

"Mercosur is our ruin. If the agricultural sector is already somewhat ruined, then Mercosur would be the final blow for this sector," he said.

Jessica Perez, a 28-year-old goat breeder from Albacete, also opposes the deal.

"We are here precisely to protest against Mercosur, against the 2030 Agenda, and against the countless bureaucratic procedures that suffocate us every day," she said.

The trade agreement - signed on 17 January - still needs approval from lawmakers in the European Parliament, which has referred it to the EU’s top court.

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