Opinion polls in Cuba?

From Editor & Publisher:

Gallup: Cubans Split on Castro But Want More Freedom

By E&P Staff

Published: December 18, 2006 11:10 AM ET
NEW YORK A new and unusual Gallup poll of 1,000 Cubans found that they were about evenly split on the rule of Fidel Castro but were, as Gallup put it, "profoundly unhappy" with the lack of personal freedoms.

Asked about the leadership of their country, 47% gave their approval with 40% opposing. But only 1 in 4 said they were satisfied with their freedom to choose what to do with their lives, "easily the lowest figure in the Gallup database of more than 100 countries."

Though they want more freedom, "the majority of Cuban respondents," Gallup reported, "appear to have internalized the socialist values of the regime." Asked whether a series of adjectives describe Cubans, respondents were much more likely to say they are "fair" (79%) and "equalitarian" (71%), than they were to say Cubans are "democratic" (47%).

The survye [sic] also found that Cubans feel the U.S. would be a good trade partner but just 14% of respondents said they approve of U.S. leadership -- significantly lower even than the finding of 24% elsewhere in Latin America.

Those surveyed lived in two major urban areas-- Havana and Santiago.
E&P Staff


I don't doubt the survey results. I think it's a testament to the control that the castro regime exercises over the media and thus the thinking of the Cuban people. Cubans have been trained to hate the Yanqui, love their leaders and take pride in the fact that Cuba is an important country although it is a "poor" country. Yet even with all the brainwashing and indocrination people still find a way to say that they don't have liberties that they suspect they should have.

Some more notes from the executive summary of the survey:

Just 42% of Cuban respondents say people in the country can get ahead by working hard; the regional figure for Latin America is almost twice as high (77%).

Cuban respondents were the least likely worldwide to say they are satisfied with the freedom they have to choose what to do with their lives. Just one in four (25%) respondents expressed satisfaction, dramatically lower than the regional figure of 80% for urban Latin America.