Around 6,000 people took part in yesterday's demonstration against the regional government's environmental and agricultural policies. The "countryside alliance", the platform for the defence of the rural world, staged a protest that gathered at Plaça Tub and which moved on to the Consolat de Mar government headquarters.
The protest included a tractor procession, which meant that roads in the centre of the city, such as Jaume III and the Born, had to be closed. There were also horses and carriages, and when they all arrived outside government HQ, the president of the Balearic hunters federation, Pedro Bestard, delivered an address on behalf of the platform.
He attacked the "continuous offences" of the government and the Council of Majorca and stressed the need for unity in defending the rural world against "an ecologist and animal-rights minority that has no feeling for or understanding of it". He called for freedom and respect for the rural sector, which has been suffering "prohibitions".
"The rural world has often been silent about decisions that we haven't liked. We have been respectful, but the situation has changed. We cannot continue to ignore the intentions of those who are now in government."
More people than had been expected took part in the protest, according to the platform. Slogans that appeared included "Viva España", "Freedom for the rural world" and "Viva los toros"; the pro-bullfighting lobby was one part of the platform.