Los cirujanos del corcho
3.000 jornaleros luchan por producir cada verano el 30% del corcho mundial en un negocio acechado por la crisis
Corta el viento y el corcho con la precisión de un cirujano. Golpes sordos, acompasados y precisos rompen el ascético silencio del Parque Natural de Los Alcornocales (Cádiz). Ni un corte más, ni uno menos. Con su afilada hacha, Juan José Gallego dibuja una línea vertical perfecta en el árbol. “Es una prolongación de mi brazo. Siento cuando ha llegado al tronco”, explica el capataz. Con la empuñadura hace palanca y el corcho de desprende. En no más de 10 minutos ha acabado con el alcornoque. Pasa al siguiente. El ritmo es agotador. Gallego, de 36 años, dirige una cuadrilla de 14 hombres que, durante dos meses en verano, trabaja en la saca del corcho en Cádiz.
A lo largo de la geografía española, son hasta 3.000 trabajadores los que emplea este sector, tradicional y amenazado, pero que es capaz de producir 62.700 toneladas, el 30% de la producción mundial, y colocar a España como el segundo productor del mundo tras Portugal.
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