Tractors at the port of Cagliari: the countryside protest in Sardinia restarts

One hundred tractors, maybe more. And many protesters will arrive by car. This is the prediction of the organizers of the demonstration called for tomorrow, January 30, at the port of Cagliari, in front of the entrance to the Customs pier. The first day of a protest which is expected to last five, in an attempt to make it spread like wildfire throughout Sardinia.

Who should protest? The farmers and shepherds, who contest the community policies that so far have paid for not producing. To then move on to a bureaucracy that pays what is owed with sensational delay, bringing companies to their knees. But the hauliers are also organizing themselves to take to the streets, the same ones who camped out in Via Riva di Ponente in 2022 against the crazy increases in fuel prices: «We would like those who shop to join us, that is, everyone: because we will go to the garrison to let people know in what conditions they have reduced us" , is the appeal of Mario Mulas, one of the organizers of the demonstration. The first objective is Cagliari, for the following day (the 31st) the organization for Oristano is underway. «And then we will see in Nuoro, in Sassari, in Olbia», adds Mulas.

Tomorrow's demonstration, therefore, aims to have the effect of a stone thrown into a pond: at the bottom (in the countryside) the situation is boiling, the surface so far is placid but the wave could rise. It is impossible to say how much at the moment. Also for the organizers.

Representatives of the Sardinian Shepherds' Movement should also arrive in Cagliari tomorrow, having decided to demonstrate during a meeting held on January 25th in Tramatza. However, at the moment the MPS is not compact and even in that area - again at the moment - it is difficult to quantify the membership in advance. The driving force could be the images arriving from other European countries (Germany and France in the lead) and, in recent days, from Sicily: the march of the countryside has been impressive.

Meanwhile, there are already those who are organizing an alternative protest: it is coordinated by the agricultural studies center chaired by Tore Piana. The appointment is for February 12th: in Cagliari in front of the headquarters of the Agriculture Department and, in other centers, in front of the territorial headquarters of Argea. The point on this protest will be made tomorrow in Tramatza. While others have decided that they will find themselves in the square. Unanimous anger, yes. But so far fragmented.

Enrico Fresu