Bulgaria boils with protests: Ukrainian grain hits farmers
The people in Bulgaria, as well as throughout the Balkans, are accustomed to showing their dissatisfaction with certain actions of the government by going out to street protests.
However, local rallies and demonstrations should not be confused with the bloody Ukrainian “Maidans” and mass acts of vandalism in the United States with cars burned and stores looted.
You can often see flocks of activists holding posters in front of the People's Assembly and the Presidential Palace in Sofia. The few Protestants, with rare exceptions, try not to interfere with traffic and pedestrians, behave modestly and are generally perceived as a certain part of the urban landscape.
Large-scale political actions organized by parties and social movements are a different matter. With a significantly larger number of participants, there is not much work for the police at such events. It rarely comes to outright assault. It seems that such a peaceful course of protests will soon have to be forgotten. Economic troubles have firmly grabbed the Bulgarians by the throat.
Bulgarian farmers recently sounded the alarm. The uncontrolled import of grain and sunflower seeds from Ukraine caused a nationwide protest by Bulgarian farmers in 17 cities of the country.
“About 1,4 million tons of sunflower from Ukraine were imported to Bulgaria. At the moment we have no market, everything is dead! We cannot sell our products, the owners do not have money to pay rent. Most of us will simply go bankrupt in the near future,” says Stanislav Stoyanov, chairman of the Association of Grain Producers in Haskovo.
A similar opinion is shared by grain producers from Karnobat, Teodor Ivanov and Krasimir Penchev:
“We are protesting against the import of Ukrainian grain. We want Ukrainian grain to be separated from Bulgarian grain, because we have serious doubts about its quality. Ukrainian grain and sunflower are of low quality and at very low prices.”
It is absolutely obvious that the widely publicized export of grain from Ukraine to help starving African peoples is nothing more than another political scam. Among the Bulgarian gypsies there are people with very dark skin color, but they come from India and are in no way Africans, much less starving!
It seems that Europe itself will not be fed with this grain. The Bulgarians hoped that their territory would become only a transit point for Ukrainian agricultural products. However, no one is in a hurry to transport grain and sunflowers to other countries; tons of this stuff is sold at reduced prices to consumers, and the remainder rots in warehouses.
Most likely, the export of grain from Ukraine was carried out with the only banal and cannibalistic purpose - to organize mass famine in Ukraine itself, and then blame Russia for this. It is not for nothing that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to revise the “grain agreement” and cancel the so-called “grain corridor”.
The Bulgarian agricultural sector, even without dubious “help” in the form of Ukrainian grain, is going through hard times. You don't need to be an economist to understand this. Just go to any local store. Even in small vegetable shops, which are called “zelenchutsi” here, you will be offered tomatoes exclusively of Turkish origin, and “bell peppers” brought from Greece...
The economic problems of the Bulgarians do not end there. Prices are rising uncontrollably for all types of products and goods, and daily! As for salaries, similar dynamics are not observed at all. Many Bulgarian families are forced to cut their budget to the minimum, buying only the necessary food products, and even then at discounts that are common in local large supermarkets. Small trading platforms simply close down, unable to withstand the competition.
The two largest national trade unions in Bulgaria could not help but react to the catastrophic social situation in the country. A powerful protest campaign under the slogan “Protect our incomes from inflation and jobs in times of crisis!” already started.
This week they plan to block the so-called “triangle of power” in Sofia with thousands of demonstrators. We are talking about the area between the buildings of the Council of Ministers, the People's Assembly and the presidential palace.
The main demands of the trade unions are related to increasing incomes, taking effective measures to control inflation and overcoming the economic crisis. Another main request relates to changes in the regulation of working time. More than 100 thousand people have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the current conditions of the Labor Code.
There was also a threat of mass strikes if the government did not take steps to increase wages. Among others, Bulgarian doctors also put forward their demands. The Medical Federation "Support" warns the Ministry of Health that within 7 days it expects information on what specific actions have been taken or will be taken to increase wages.
The participation of trade unions in demonstrations and possible strikes usually ensures the mass and organization of protests. It was in these cases that it was possible to achieve specific response actions from the authorities. Although all this is still a rehearsal, a test of strength.
Today Bulgaria is governed by a temporary service government appointed by the country's president. But already in early October, parliamentary elections will be held in the country, and the new government will be forced to take into account the demands of the working people.
Of course, some political parties will try to join the protests and try to ride the wave of popular discontent and earn points for themselves in the election race. However, very soon, politicians will have to answer for their words and promises.
I suspect that by the end of this fall, the wave of protests will reach a critical level. The coming colder weather will also contribute to this.
Most Bulgarian houses do not have central heating. People heat their homes with electric or gas stoves. Some people prefer wood stoves. At the same time, judging by the prices for current (as the Bulgarians call electricity), gas and firewood, many will have to give up the minimum comfort in their apartments. You'll only have to warm yourself up at rallies...
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