VIDEO Angry at the agreement with Mercosur, Spanish farmers blocked Madrid with hundreds of tractors. “Next year, beef tenderloin may be on hormones”

About 1,500 farmers, with 348 tractors, are protesting on Wednesday, according to the Iberian government, in the center of Madrid, against the trade agreement between the EU and the countries of the South American bloc Mercosur and against the reduction of funds under the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), informs the Spanish news agency EFE.

The demonstrators entered the Spanish capital from several directions, in five columns, to go to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, where they presented their demands, notes Agerpres.

Among them is the rejection of the terms in which the free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur states was signed, because the protesters believe that its implementation will bring unfair competition to European farmers.

Las columnas de tractores llegando al Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería. pic.twitter.com/wSZjsPuKSn

— Asaja Valladolid (@AsajaValladolid) February 11, 2026

The protesters also oppose the reduction of the CAP amount from 2028.

Concretely, professionals from the agricultural sector denounce the fact that Mercosur products that will be exported to Europe will not have to meet the same production requirements as European ones.

“Coup d'état”

Wednesday's protest was called by the organizations Union de Uniones (Union of Unions) and Union Nacional de Asociaciones del Sector Primario Independientes – Unaspi (National Union of Independent Associations of the Primary Sector) and is expected to take place in other cities.

🔴🚜Start at the tractor stand in Madrid: first stop, Plaza de Colón

📸One from the columnas across to calle Francisco Silvela dirección Plaza de Colón https://t.co/XPwIzW9qvs pic.twitter.com/V41qE4pSHb

— AGROPOPULAR (@agropopular) February 11, 2026

“We are playing a lot (…) and, attention! I am appealing to consumers: today we know that if we buy a filet, that filet will be healthy, it can be eaten. Starting next year, if the agreement is signed, that filet of beef may be with hormones”, warned the coordinator of the Union de Uniones, Luis Cortes.

According to the president of Unaspi, Miguel Angel Aguilera, the agreement with Mercosur is the “coup d'état” that will end the European primary sector and which, apart from affecting the agricultural sector, will also have an impact on citizens. “It will affect them directly,” he warned.

#Madrid invasa dai trattori, la protesta contro l'accordo #Ugh–#Mercosur pic.twitter.com/tDps9y97Pr

— askanews (@askanews_ita) February 11, 2026

Protesters claim they brought more than 500 tractors to the Madrid protest and that there were thousands of participants.

🇪🇸 | The center of Madrid was cut by the Ministry of Agriculture's road tractor against the EU-Mercosur agreement and the cuts in the PAC.

500 women tractors and 10,000 demonstrators gather in protest:

“Con estos golfos en el gobierno ser agriculturist será un fierno!” pic.twitter.com/z2WyU8dXFf

— ʜᴇʀQʟᴇs (@herqles_es) February 11, 2026

Since the beginning of the year, the protests in the Spanish agricultural sector continue. On January 29, more than 25,000 farmers and livestock breeders demonstrated with 15,000 tractors in most regions for the same reasons. They were convened by the majority sectoral organizations: Asaja, COAG and UPA.

The EU and Mercosur signed the free trade agreement on January 17, in Asuncion, after 26 years of negotiations.

But on January 21, the European Parliament decided to refer it to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) to check whether it is compatible with EU treaties, which blocked the application of the agreement until the judges rule.