This morning, cars moved slowly along the roads leading to the Galp refinery in Sines, in the Setúbal district. This slow march is a protest against the rising cost of fuel.
Protesters started their journey from various areas of the region, including Grandola, Santiago do Cacém, and Vila Nova de Santo André, heading towards the Sines refinery, and continue to move slowly through the streets adjacent to this industrial complex.
As they passed the refinery, drivers honked their horns and shouted slogans, opposing the fuel costs, under the close watch of GNR military personnel.
A group that started from Grandola, also in the Setúbal district, gathered early in the morning at a gas station on IC1, near this Alentejo village, and began moving towards the refinery at a slow pace at 08:10. These protesters were constantly accompanied by the GNR, and Portuguese flags fluttered on the bonnets and windows of the cars. Others held placards with inscriptions such as 'Enough with fuel price increases' or 'Families can no longer cope.'
Rúben Marques, an entrepreneur and one of the protest organizers, told the Lusa agency: 'We will go to extreme measures to achieve our goal, which is to change fuel prices and find a viable solution for everyone.' He noted that due to the constant increase in fuel prices in Portugal, it has become impossible to survive, as the costs have both direct and indirect consequences everywhere.
Marques emphasized that everything—from food and gas to medicine and transport—is affected by fuel prices. In statements to the Lusa agency, Rúben Marques reported that the protesters demand that the Government lower fuel prices to a fair level of about 1.60 or 1.65 euros.
The group from Grandola was joined by leaders and members of APROSERPA—the Association of Farmers of the Left Bank of Guadiana, based in the municipality of Serpa, Beja district. They also expressed dissatisfaction with the 'sharp increase' in fuel prices. The president of APROSERPA, João Reves, stressed in an interview with Lusa that farmers are suffering greatly from current fuel costs, reminding that both consumers and agricultural machinery use diesel fuel.
He gave an example: 'We are going to start preparing autumn and winter crops, and, for instance, two medium-sized tractors consume 20 liters per hour each, which is 40 liters per hour. Over an eight-hour workday, the tractors will consume about 320 liters of diesel fuel.' João Reves specified that this amount of fuel is equivalent to what a medium-sized family car requires to travel 6000 kilometers, and that is just for one working day. He added: 'Thus, one can see the economic weight this has for the treasury of agricultural enterprises.'
In addition, this farmer advocated for a 'significant reduction' in prices and the abolition of the carbon tax in agriculture, since agriculture 'sequesters more carbon than it produces.' The protest was organized through groups on the WhatsApp instant messaging application.