Farmers unite in defence of the referendum

Farmers from all over Catalonia mobilized this Friday morning in order to defend the referendum, taking to the highways in their tractors and heading to various cities and towns across the country.

Concerned about possible “grave actions” that might occur in order to stop Sunday’s controversial referendum, Catalonia’s Farmer’s Assembly (Assemblea Pagesa) called upon farmer’s to defend “democracy and freedom” on Wednesday, and today the farmers have followed through.

Early in the morning, thousands of tractors left the fields for towns and cities in the name of democracy.

Assemblea Pagesa suggested that farmer’s aid the election process by protecting polling stations with their tractors, so that people will be able to vote.

Via Twitter, they invited “all the tractors in the country to park in the vicinity of the polling stations, without impeding the circulation or development of the voting process, without publicity of any kind, but guarding against any possible actions of sabotage against the vote.”

Farmers protested all over Catalonia today, with tractor rallies organized in various towns within the counties of Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, and Terres l’Ebre in the south. In Barcelona, tractors occupied major roads such as Aragó Street and Mallorca Street.

Organized by unions such as Assemblea Pagesa and JARC (Joves Agricultors i Ramaders de Catalunya,) the agenda includes demonstrations, and gatherings outside government buildings in order to show support for the referendum.