Coldiretti and his trusted minister – although capable of stopping high-speed trains – are unable to stop the great wave of farmers’ protest against them (1,2,3). And the ‘boss of bosses’ Vincenzo Gesmundo
– instead of trying to understand and care about those who work the land from dawn to dusk, without a decent income or prospects for the future
– writes a letter to all the regional and provincial directors of the Federations. ‘Let’s arm ourselves and leave’, we summon the members, we accuse those who protest of ‘hooliganism’.
Below is the full text of the letter dated 7 February, from the millionaire general secretary of the national Coldiretti Vincenzo Gesmundo to his generals in the area (see attachment).
#CleanSpades
1) Vincenzo Gesmundo, letter to the regional and provincial directors of Coldiretti
‘I believe that the meeting we had yesterday in Rome contributed to clarifying the path that Coldiretti must follow immediately:
– First of all, reunite with as many members as possible, the thread of a story that unfortunately, due to our responsibilities and objective reasons, we have interrupted; that is, it is necessary to line up the objectives achieved in recent years. And in this respect you have written and filmed support materials;
– we need to put ourselves in the frame of mind of listening, in the knowledge that what may appear to us as a micro-problem, iin the soul of the member in this difficult season, may be experienced as a further moment of abandonment or loneliness;
– it is necessary that we do not assume, in this phase, the attitude of those who have something to defend or from which to defend themselves:and our words and our posture should be the leaven that brings out what the members, out of fear, resentment or respect, push away;
– we need us and them to be aware that whatever reaction we put into play, it will be the outcome of a work and an exchange that has seen us ‘together’;
– It is necessary at the same time to clearly express the concept that these protests – alongside the undoubted malaise of many – bear the recognizable imprint of hooliganism and of a politics that sells out for a handful of votes‘(Vincenzo Gesmundo, 7.2.24).
2) Team orders
‘To give full impetus to this dialogue, we need to organise no less than 4 assemblies in each province over the next few days, until the end of next week, and for them to gather as many members as possible.
Finally we need everyone to carry within themselves the heartfelt and mind-felt awareness that this threat we are facing to Coldiretti is aimed at wiping out our identity, our strength, our very existence‘ (Vincenzo Gesmundo, 7.2.24).
3) Identity (betrayed)
‘You must know how to find the words to draw on what we represent and have represented: since 1944 onwards Coldiretti has stood for emancipation, for recognised citizenship for those who procured and procure food, for farming families and individuals.
In a world that changed and continues to change we are the only ones who have kept the same symbol, the same colors, the same flags. It’s time to reiterate it, it’s time to put it in the foreground’Coldiretti’ Pride first! (Vincenzo Gesmundo, 7.2.24).
4) Representation of oneself
Coldiretti’s magic circle pulls together, confident that it can aggregate members and discourage dissidents, who still rely on the monopoly of its CAAs (Centres for Assistance in Agriculture) to access the European funding they are always entitled to. (4)
However,the system only represents itself and finance in agriculture. The giants like CAI S.p.A. aliasFederconsorzi 2 that invest to speculate on a productive fabric fragmented into hundreds of thousands of farms forced to sell off their products and ultimately themselves.
5) The caste of Palazzo Rospigliosi
The caste hat sees the difficulty of protesting farmers to pay their bills and mortgages as a ‘micro-problem’ uses their money to pay salaries in the order of 700.000 euro to Ettore Prandini, 625.000 to Vincenzo Gesmundo, 400.000 to Fabrizio Di Marzio, (5) 350.000 to David Granieri and Vincenzo Lelli, 250.000-330.000 to the regional directors, 130.000-220.000 to the provincial directors, in addition to shareholdings and lucrative corporate offices.
At Palazzo Rospigliosi, the remuneration of the offices – i.e. the directors of the companies – is decided, according to practice, not by the shareholders’ meeting but by the board members themselves. Who, with an unusual interpretation of the civil code, decide their own remuneration, which thus does not appear in the (public) minutes of the shareholders’ meeting. (7)
The lottery of the corporate offices in the Coldiretti galaxy, according to some, has won annual fees of 250.000 euros to Vincenzo Lelli at CAI S.p.A., 100.000 to Fabrizio Di Marzio at Esiodo, (8) 80.000 to Granieri at UNAPROL wrecked in oil (9,10), 60.000 to Ettore Prandini at CAP Nord-Est. And many other rich prizes, for the Coldiretti magic circle and its golden caste.
6) Farmers’ protest, what are the prospects?
National agricultural policies have led to the closure of almost 4 farms in Italy, from 2016 to 2021, under Coldiretti ministers of various colours. The Confederation has an important history, but its opaque management in recent decades has corroded its enamel in the name of the private interests of its magic circle and the financial oligarchies to which it is attached.
A structural and deep reform and deep organization of direct farmers seems to be the only way out for this sick giant. A new constituent is needed to define a governance that guarantees farmers the representation of other farmers, on the basis of democratic choices on the territories, after having cleared the field.
Sic transit Gloria Mundi. #CleanSpades
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
See Annex, letter 7.2.24 by Vincenzo Gesmundo to all the regional and provincial directors of Coldiretti.
(1) Dario Dongo. Italy, farmers protest against Coldiretti. #CleanSpades. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 26.1.24
(2) Dario Dongo. January 31, 2024, the day of the farmers’ protest in Italy. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 31.1.24
(3) Dario Dongo. Farmers in protest, the viral deception of Coldiretti & Co. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 5.2.24
(4) Dario Dongo. AGEA and MASAF ‘Coldiretti’. The suppression of freelancers in agriculture. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 30.9.23
(5) Dario Dongo. Public administration, loyalty to the state or to Coldiretti? #Clean shovels. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 27.6.21
(6) See paragraph 8 (The golden caste) to the previous article cited in note 3
(7) Civil Code, article 2389, paragraph 3. According to some interpreters, these resolutions are all invalid, but there is no news of any challenge to them by the shareholders. The caste protects itself well
(8) See the paragraph ‘the liquidators’ gang’ in the previous article by Dario Dongo. Federconsorzi 2, AgriRevi, AIPO (Unaprol). Gold business for Coldiretti’s magic circle. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 3.6.21
(9) Dario Dongo. Coldiretti and Unaprol. The uncertain fate of public funds destined for Italian olive growers. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6.2.21
(10) Dario Dongo. UNAPROL, AIPO and Oleificio Paladino, conflicts of interest like wildfire. #Clean shovels. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 13.1.22
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
