Related videos:
Amelia Calzadilla published a message on Facebook this Friday to thank those who mentioned her as a figure of the Cuban opposition performing favorably in a unprecedented public opinion poll that gathered over 41,000 responses.
The survey, launched on April 24 by a coalition of over 20 independent digital media outlets in Cuba through the site encuestascuba.net, closed on May 1 with 41,658 responses, of which 58% came from within the island.
In question 15, which was optional, participants were asked to mention "other opposition figures with favorable performance." The resulting word cloud highlighted Calzadilla as the most cited name, followed by Eliecer Ávila.
"I want to take a moment to thank each and every person in this community who placed their trust in the anonymity of this survey and chose to fill it out from within Cuba," the activist wrote.
Calzadilla acknowledged the challenges faced by participants on the island: "I know how many barriers of fear and technology were imposed on us to prevent citizen participation and, with it, the truth that lives in our minds and homes."
The regime blocked access to the survey from Cuba during the data collection period and published an article in Juventud Rebelde on April 28 titled "The Survey, AI, and Manipulation" in an attempt to discredit it.
The activist also emphasized the personal weight that recognition carries: "I can’t help but be amazed and infinitely grateful to all those who included me in the survey as a figure of the opposition with a favorable performance. The recognition from you is extremely gratifying, especially considering the level of exposure we endure, which jeopardizes our safety and that of our loved ones."
The gratitude comes days after Calzadilla founded the Cuban Orthodox Liberal Party (PLOC) on April 27, a center-right party inspired by Marti's ideology and the free market, whose slogan is "A new path for Cuba. With principles. With freedom. With you."
The founding of the PLOC generated a wave of support among Cubans both on and off the island, with numerous membership requests on social media.
The overall survey results revealed massive rejection of the system: 80.1% of participants support transitioning to a capitalist model of liberal democracy, 99% want to eliminate the Communist Party as the sole party, and Miguel Díaz-Canel received an average rating of 1.11 out of five, with 93.7% of respondents giving him the lowest possible score.
Calzadilla, exiled in Madrid since November 2023 with her husband and three children, began her activism in June 2022 with a viral video denouncing the gas shortage in Cerro, Havana.
According to her own words about how her struggle began, it was the repression from State Security that "pushed" her to become an opponent.
Only 4.7% of those surveyed identify the U.S. embargo as the main problem of the country, while 46.6% support it as a mechanism for pressuring democratic change.
Filed under: