Tractors and protesters reach central Barcelona

Farmers from across Catalonia converged on central Barcelona on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, in a protest led by the Unió de Pagesos (UP) union. The union put the turnout at about 1,000 farmers and 200 tractors, while Europa Press reported about 400 demonstrators. Tractors left points across the region from 5.00 and reached the Government Delegation on calle Mallorca from 12.30. Protesters burned several straw bales outside the Department of Agriculture on the Gran Via, then left their tractors on Via Laietana and walked to Plaça de Sant Jaume, which they reached around 15.20.

The union's demands

UP wants a structural reform of the farm sector, and its national coordinator, Raquel Serrat, told the authorities that the sector needs structural measures rather than patches. Among the demands sent to the Spanish Government and the Govern is emergency economic aid of 17,000 euros for farms hit by climate events, for professional holdings with at least one agricultural work unit (UTA). The union also wants action on rising input costs linked to wars, on what it calls unfair competition from outside the EU, and on climate-driven production losses and livestock diseases. La Vanguardia reports that the protest also targets the Mercosur agreement, ratified in January, and higher prices for fuel and fertilisers tied to the war in the Middle East. Serrat warned that the geopolitical situation and more frequent climate shocks leave the sector and society very exposed. Asaja, which joined the mobilisation along with the FCAC cooperative federation and the Revolta Pagesa movement, said the overall cost rise stands at 30%. Farmers cited by La Vanguardia put the rise in production costs at 30% since the conflict between the United States and Iran began. The September consumer price index, published the same day, showed diesel up 34.3% and petrol up 27.5%.

Talks with the Govern and Brussels

The Govern had offered to receive UP representatives after the march, but union sources told Europa Press that the meeting would not take place on Wednesday and that both sides would negotiate over the coming days and weeks. Serrat said what matters now is that negotiations move forward in the coming weeks. In Brussels, Catalan president Salvador Illa met Eric Sargiacomo, vice-president of the European Parliament's agriculture committee, and asked that the 2028-2034 Common Agricultural Policy suffer no cuts and that Europe reinforce extraordinary aid for falling prices. Illa also rejected the CAP being diluted into a single fund and asked that regions play a real role in its design. He also met Teresa Ribera, first vice-president of the European Commission, and according to El Periódico asked the EU to mobilise all its resources on housing. Speaking to reporters, Illa said:

We are working on this aid package and it is very important that the European contingency fund be mobilised, which is planned precisely for these situations.

Asaja president Pere Roquer said the Govern offers very good words but few solutions, and accused the Spanish state of offering neither.

Traffic and the political backdrop

The Servei Català de Trànsit reported tailbacks over about six kilometres of the B-23 towards Barcelona, between Sant Joan Despí and Molins de Rei. La Vanguardia noted the protest was less numerous than earlier ones but still caused significant traffic disruption while the city was recovering from rain, Rodalies problems and high-speed rail incidents. Sources differ on where the tractors started: UP described departures from seven zones of Catalonia, while EL PAÍS listed eight starting points. A CEO poll published on Wednesday kept the PSC in first place but showed growing wear, with ERC and Aliança Catalana competing for second. Illa said the polls were an incentive to keep working and argued that parties promising magic solutions fail when they must apply them, in what El Periódico described as a veiled reference to the party led by Sílvia Orriols.