Cubans distrust the ability of their president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to face the crisis the country is experiencing and respond to the basic needs of the people and, in general, they are dissatisfied with the way the island is governed, according to a survey carried out by Cubadata in 2022.
The study, which used the monitoring panel technique for just over two weeks, from July 15 to 31 of that year, focused on food security and political legitimacy and yields revealing data on these issues after surveying a total of 1,783 people throughout the island.
Cubadata interviewed people between the ages of 18 and 81, the majority of whom were men. The gender imbalance in the sample was due to “a structural issue: less access by women to the use of technology in Cuba (cell phones, Internet, etc.),” the group said.
Diaz-Canel’s unpopularity
57.2% (1,020) of those surveyed do not trust their president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to respond to the needs of the people. Only 7% (124) said they fully trust. The vast majority, 60% (1,074) indicated that they did not trust the Communist Party either.
The dissatisfaction of those surveyed with the way Cuba is governed is also high. 58.2% (1,037) said they were “totally dissatisfied”, while only 4.3% (77) said they were “totally satisfied”.
Regarding the Cuban government’s respect for the human rights of its citizens, 52.1% (929) showed total dissatisfaction, while only 6.6% (118) said they were “totally satisfied.”
The majority of those surveyed, 61.4% (1,095) also expressed their dissatisfaction with the response that the government has given to the economic crisis on the island. 39.1 (697) said that the government has responded aggressively to the protests and social demands of its citizens, while 15.2% (271) said that it has responded “peacefully.” 37.9% (676) also indicated that the government responds aggressively to independent civil society groups that demand solutions to the country’s problems.
The majority, 54.2% (967) is “totally in agreement” with the civil demonstrations and claims of the population before the government. Only 7.1% (126) disagreed and 5.6% (99) said they were unaware of what had happened.
Food safety
43.8% of those surveyed (781) said that the main reason for lack of food at home in the last 30 days was that “there is a shortage of food, there is nowhere to buy”. Another 18.5 (330) indicated that the ration provided by the government is not enough.
At least once a week in the same period, 25% (445) of the respondents ate less or skipped breakfast, lunch or dinner due to lack of food to bring to their table.
26.7% (476) said that their household ran out of food due to lack of money, or because they could not get it, compared to 29.9 who stated that they had never been in that situation in the last 30 days.
When asked if a person had stopped eating for a whole day, 6% (107) answered “almost daily”; 12.1% (215) said that “many times (at least once a week), while the majority, 62.4% (1,112) said that “never”.
Free expression and civil demonstrations
When asked how likely it would be to participate in one of these civil demonstrations, 17.7% (316) of those surveyed said that it was “very likely”, compared to 42.8% (764) who indicated that their participation would be “not at all likely”. .
Likewise, 16.6% (296) described the possibility of participating in one of the independent civil society groups as “very likely”, but 43.5% (775) ruled out this possibility.
When asked why they think people do not protest in civil demonstrations in Cuba, the majority (56.1%, 1,001) responded that the main reason is “because they are afraid.” 24.2% (431) “believe it is useless”; 9.4% (168) said they were “in favor of the government” and 6.9% (123) “are not interested”.
27.5% (491) of those surveyed considered the chance to share their true political opinions through social networks or the internet “very likely”, compared to 31.5% (561) who said it would be “not at all likely”. A larger number of respondents, 32.9% (586), said they would most likely share their political views in the neighborhood; 24.6% (438) indicated that this would be “not at all likely”.
Finally, a large majority of the participants in the survey, 60.8% (1,084) affirmed that the Cuban government does not guarantee the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, nor freedom of thought, 57.7% (1,025). While 50.2% (895) said that it does not guarantee the right to freedom in general, compared to 6.8% (122) who considered that it does fully guarantee it.
According to the report, a large part of the Cubans surveyed believe that their government does not guarantee the right to private property (44.6%, 795), or to social protection (38.6%, 689), or to their personal security (41.2%, 734). ).
Justice and law enforcement
Regarding the right to equality before the application of the law, 48.5% (864) of those surveyed said that the Cuban State does not guarantee it, compared to only 7.5% (134) who affirmed that it does.
The majority of those surveyed, 53.1% (947 out of 1,000), do not trust that the laws enacted in Cuba are fair. Only 6% (107) said they fully trusted. In the same way, 52.9% (943) distrust the administration of justice in the country, and 56.8% (1,012) do not trust the honest or integral action of the police.
