Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez talks US election

Yoani Sanchez, blogger of Generation Y and author of Havana Real spoke to GlobalPost’s Venezuela correspondent Girish Gupta about the US election in the eyes of Cubans.

“Cubans aren’t allowed to ask a single question about elections in our country. Our elections aren't a theme for speculation. However, we’re very attentive to elections in other countries, for example recently in Venezuela and now in the US.

The government here says that the revolution allowed Cuba sovereignty. I don’t think Cuba’s ever been as dependent on the US as now. If the White House says yes, Havana says no. If the White House says red, Havana says green. If the White House says east, Havana says west. We've never been so dependent on US politics as we have an obsession with doing the opposite. I’d prefer to live in a sovereign country that wasn't constantly following the political agenda of a foreign country …

What influence can [Obama or Romney] have in Cuba? The government in Havana is normally happier with the discourse of the Republicans, more aggressive and confrontational. The government lives for confrontation. Everything can be explained with confrontation. If there’s no potatoes in the market, it’s the fault of the US. If the children don’t have a math teacher, it’s the fault of the US …

When there’s a Republican president in the White House, therefore, it’s a perfect game. I think the government in Havana struggles with the flexibility of Barack Obama and his small academic and cultural bridges, his flexibility with remittances for example."

GlobalPost series: More voices from Cuba and around the world on election 2012