A Cuban woman from Spain has starred in a viral TikTok video where she extends a direct invitation to the former leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, to experience daily life on the island firsthand, amid controversy over his recent statements about the situation in Cuba.
The young woman, identified as Náyare Menoyo (@nayaremenoyo), a Cuban journalist who in 2021 won the Rey de España Award in the Television category, reacted to remarks made by Iglesias during his visit to Havana, where he stated that the situation in the country “is certainly difficult, but not as it is being presented from the outside,” after meeting with officials from the Communist Party.
"This is a video to invite Pablo Iglesias to my house in Cuba," says at the beginning of the video, before including a clip of statements from the island by the Spanish politician himself.
From there, he offers a specific experience: “Pablo Iglesias, please, I invite you to spend a few days in my house in Cuba… I only ask that you don’t bring euros, nor carry food, but instead live on what they will provide you there.”
According to the explanation, their parents live in Havana, both are professionals and are not among the most vulnerable sectors, although they clarify that their situation is "privileged in the Cuban context." Still, they insist that this reality would allow Iglesias to have a closer perspective on daily life on the island.
Menoyo also questions the politician's assessments, noting that he only met with representatives of the Communist Party. "It seems you could meet with other parties, right?" he states, before emphasizing that in Cuba "it is the only party there is," and any attempt at dissent "is illegal, is persecuted, and is imprisoned."
At another point in the video, he criticizes the official narrative about supposed advances in the country: “Advancing towards what, Mr. Pablo Iglesias? Advancing towards what?”. He adds: “Towards the bakeries that the president of a country has claimed as an achievement, that bakeries have turned into coal and wood bakeries in the twenty-first century in two thousand twenty-six?”.
It also questions the narrative about the free nature of services like education: “it’s not free, it’s public,” they assert, before comparing it to the Spanish system itself: "and in Spain, for example, where you live, education is also public. I don’t know why you are so surprised that education in Cuba is public?"
One of the most striking points of his intervention relates to the disconnection between political discourse and the country’s energy reality: “How can you know Canal Red if there are only three hours of electricity daily in Cuba? And those hours are for cooking, for washing, for doing basic tasks.”
The video concludes with a repeated invitation for Iglesias to spend a month in his family home and then engage in dialogue with Cuban emigrés: “so that you can see why the situation is indeed serious, it is a humanitarian crisis.”
His words have sparked numerous reactions on social media, where criticisms of the Spanish politician's statements prevail alongside support for the Cuban.
Among the comments, some users directly questioned Iglesias: “As a Spaniard, I feel ashamed; he literally went to Cuba to mock Cubans and say that things aren’t so bad from a luxury hotel.”
Others pointed to the contrast between rhetoric and living conditions: “So much socialism, yet he lives in a luxury villa and his children attend private schools... not to mention his salary and that of his wife.”
There were also supportive messages for the creator: “Give it your all, the one with the ponytail, you’re amazing, Homeland and life.”
Some comments expressed discontent even from Spain: "I am Spanish and I feel secondhand embarrassment, no dictatorship, whether communist or not, can be good, especially with the hardship you are experiencing, what a shame."
Other users insisted on the disconnection between the rhetoric and the reality of Cuba: “If he supports the Cuban system so much, let him stay in Old Havana for two days in a little house with his wife and daughters. Let him figure it out. You'll see he’ll change his mind. Here in Spain, we don’t share his opinion most of the time either.”
The controversy arises after Pablo Iglesias downplayed the crisis in Cuba after meeting with Communist Party officials in Havana, during a visit as part of an international delegation related to the so-called "Nuestra América" flotilla.
During his stay, the politician has held meetings with authorities and reiterated a message that emphasizes difficulties while downplaying the seriousness of the crisis in a country marked by power outages, shortages, and the deterioration of basic services.
These statements have sparked a wave of responses both inside and outside of Cuba. Citizens and activists have questioned the judgments coming from privileged environments, highlighting issues such as blackouts, shortages of food and medicine, as well as political restrictions. Along the same lines, Spanish influencer Marta Ojeda criticized Iglesias for sharing his opinions from a luxury hotel, while Cubans on social media have denounced attempts to "whitewash" the reality of the country.
The controversy has continued in recent days, alongside the public agenda of the former leader of Podemos on the island, where he has even announced an upcoming interview with Miguel Díaz-Canel, amid a context of growing social unrest due to the deterioration of living conditions.
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