Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel claims to be a happy man who feels a strong sense of responsibility toward his work and meeting the needs of the people.
The leader met this week at the Palace of the Revolution with 50 young pioneers from different educational levels, in one of those gatherings aimed at indoctrinating children in communist ideals, this time to "celebrate" the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
In response to a girl's question about what it feels like to be president, he stated that he demands a lot from himself, but emphasized that despite the difficulties and challenges, he is happy.
"First, because I live in a country that makes me happy, and because I have a commitment to the project that represents the majority of our people, which is the socialist revolution," he said.
"There is harmony among us, there is harmony in the family, in the work teams. When I interact with people in the places we visit, it enriches you greatly and gives you a lot of energy. But it is a very demanding responsibility," he added.
Amid the crisis brought on by his disastrous administration, Díaz-Canel boasts about speaking with a few Cuban children and adolescents about their "rights," while thousands go to school every day without breakfast, some eat thanks to family abroad, and most often can't even sleep because the heat in their homes during a blackout is unbearable.
During his term, the economy has plummeted, and the population is struggling to survive in a context marked by scarcity, inflation, and the devaluation of the national currency.
He claims that he is not indifferent to the people and that the first gauge for understanding the public's opinion is his friends and family.
In March, just four days after the protests that shook several towns in Cuba, he appeared on television trying to present himself as a humble person attuned to the needs of the people.
"None of us lives apart from the people. I am in a familiar environment, among friends and colleagues, where people share the same issues as the population because they are part of the community," he said.
"Therefore, my friends and my family also, in the best sense, complain that the situation is tough; they share these views with us," he added.
The president noted that there are mechanisms to study public opinions that come in real-time, but he insisted that his family and close associates are the most direct way for him to learn what people think.
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