In a small act, SOS Rural has presented itself this Tuesday as an association that seeks to bring together all the rural organizations in the country. In the presentation, the spokespersons have confirmed the mobilization called for this May 14 in Madrid as a way of making the sector visible.
“S.OS. Rural is an independent and apolitical organization that seeks to bring together everything that is rural in order to protect and defend it. It is made up of more than 500 rural groups. You have to think that 85% of Spain is rural, and It is occupied by some 7.5 million people. And those have been the ones who have now come together to defend ourselves against the constant attacks that are made on our way of life, our activities and our work”, explained Carlos Bueno, coordinator of the movement and organizer of the march.
Among the problems they seek to deal with are renewable energies, “renewable yes, but not like this” they have expressed. The spokesman and vice president of the association of independent farmers of Valencia, Víctor Viceido, explained to EL MUNDO that this type of energy is “ruining” profitable land and for this they demand that desert land be used.
“That they use vacant land, land that is not agricultural or forest to put up these solar panels. The Valencian landscapes of orange or olive trees are being destroyed with these panels. Renewables cannot be like this, they cannot exploit land that used to be crops” he explained to the newspaper.
Viceido has made it clear that the land, family, and accessibility restructuring laws in the province of Valencia and the community of Castilla y La Mancha “have ruined us and are stealing our land to serve as sustainable energy sources.” The spokesman has clarified that this type of energy is sustainable if it is executed correctly, “if not, it is not.”
Salvador Marqués, spokesman, has clarified that they seek to work on proposals so that the rural world can be profitable. “That young people can live with dignity in the fields and can produce quality food. But it has to be profitable,” he stresses, adding that it is reasonable for young people to leave the land if the government “gives us a lot of problems.”
It also clarifies that its activities include farms in urban centers with many inhabitants, such as Andalusia or Valencia. “We are not concerned about the emptied Spain, but about the attack on the primary sector and the rural world,” he commented.
With the motto “Discover your land”, Bueno has confirmed the call for the “great march” for Sunday May 14 in Madrid. With this they seek to make visible the problems of the field and try to influence Spanish agricultural and livestock policies.
“It is a showcase to see what happens. We have chosen Madrid because it is the capital and it is where the Ministries, the Congress, the political parties and our main enemies are, which are animal rights and environmentalists,” Bueno explained.
Bueno has made reference to the alliances that SOS Rural is creating with European rural organizations. “We have a group in Brussels working with other groups in Europe, such as the BBB in the Netherlands or the yellow vests in France. The idea is to collect information about what is happening before it gets here. So we can think of alternatives and allegations, because until now when we wanted to interfere it was already too late. That’s why we are in Brussels, which is the root of all the initiatives”, he assured.
In this sense, Bueno, Marqués and Viceido agreed that rural activities should be considered essential and a priority for the development of public policies. They assure that without the activities of the rural world, there is no food autonomy, there is no preservation of traditions and origins, there is no effective protection of the environment and there is no possible sustainability.
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