Sandro Castro, grandson of Fidel Castro and a Cuban influencer, described himself as "a humble person" and denied having privileges due to his last name, asserting that he lives like any other citizen and that he even suffers blackouts like the rest of the Cubans.
In an interview with the Colombian channel Red+ Noticias, he stated that he lives "humbly" in his Havana apartment and rejected the accusations of privilege that have been made against him because of his surname.
The interview, conducted on Tuesday from Havana, was interrupted several times by electricity outages, which Sandro himself used as an argument to illustrate his point.
"I am a person from a small town, I live humbly in my apartment here, I endure power outages, I face the same hardships. Clearly, there are many people who suffer even more intensely," he asserted.
In response to the direct question of whether he considers himself privileged on the island, he was unequivocal: "I have no privilege or immunity". I feel like a citizen of the people, and I'm very proud of it. 100% Cuban.
Sandro also assured that he moves without an escort through the streets of Havana: "I walk freely. I go without security, without privileges."
However, the contrast between those statements and their daily reality is evident.
The grandson of the deceased dictator owns the Bar EFE in Vedado, which charges a monthly entry fee of 1,000 Cuban pesos and requires a minimum consumption of 15,000 pesos per table, equivalent to more than two average Cuban salaries of 6,500 pesos each.
About the crisis that Cuba is experiencing, Sandro admitted straightforwardly: "There is a collapse, there is a real collapse", but not a collapse that is permanent.
Regarding the economic opening, he was emphatic in labeling it as an urgent necessity.
"It's an urgent necessity, brother. An urgent, urgent necessity," and he reported that "there is too much bureaucracy in this country and we need to eliminate it. It's something that is a very painful brake."
About her stance on the regime, she acknowledged that she makes "a subliminal, but very subtle, critique," and explained the reason for her caution: "I do not engage in any acts of violence or anything aggressive, as I respect the government because I live on the island."
When the interviewer directly asked whether Miguel Díaz-Canel should step aside, Sandro dodged the question, claiming that he was running out of battery, one of the most revealing moments of the interview.
Regarding the pressure from Donald Trump, who claimed that Cuba is "next" after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, Sandro stated that the American president "is an unpredictable person" and that his statements should be taken as a warning, "but not as a threat of war, as long as there is dialogue and there is sovereignty."
He also claimed to have access to the family power circle: "I practically have no closeness from that preamble to those things. As a young person, I lead my own independent life."
The interview with Red+ Noticias takes place during a week of unusual media exposure for the young man of 33 years.
Last Tuesday, CNN published an interview from his apartment in Havana with unpainted walls and an almost empty fridge, in which he criticized Díaz-Canel: "For me, he is not doing a good job."
In that interview, he also stated that "the majority of Cubans want to be capitalists", not communists.
He also revealed that he had been summoned by State Security for satirical videos, although he was released with a warning.
On March 22, The New York Times had dedicated an extensive profile titled "the grandson of Fidel who satirizes the regime from privilege".
His final message to Cuban youth encapsulated the tone of the entire interview: "Little by little, first, never lose faith. Never lose faith, and gradually, we will see a good change."
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