The Cuban journalist Ismael Cala publicly revealed his aspiration to become the president of Cuba and asked the newly elected president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, to prepare him for that potential leadership role, in a conversation that went viral on social media.
The moment occurred during an interview on Cala's podcast, The Abundance Revolution, published between July 3 and 5, just days after Peru's National Jury of Elections officially proclaimed Fujimori as the elected president.
"I want to ask you for help, for mentorship, you know why? Because I feel that if Cuba becomes a free country, I would like to contribute to that country, and I would like you to train me to be a good president of Cuba," Cala said directly to Fujimori during the recording.
Fujimori responded enthusiastically and accepted the role his friend proposed: "For me, it is a privilege to accompany you, to give you advice, dear Ismael. But what you are announcing seems incredibly powerful and transformative to me. You know that I care for you, that I admire you, and that you have very strong leadership."
Cala clarified that this is not about an imminent candidacy, but rather an aspiration projected for the decades to come.
"I am thinking about 20 to 30 years from now, not right now," he clarified, adding that those who are successful in the private sector should also take the step toward public service: "If those of us who are doing well in the private sector do not step forward to engage in public service, we sometimes cannot complain about the leaders who emerge."
The communicator mentioned that the seed of that idea was planted by a young Cuban years ago when Cala was working at CNN.
"I never thought about politics, but a young man wrote me a letter on Facebook from Havana years ago on CNN. It made me cry because he was the one who planted the seed in me. I hope you become the president of Cuba," he recalled.
Cala also revealed that he has been unable to return to Cuba for 15 years due to his opposition to the communist regime, and that it was even his mother who went to say goodbye to his father on his behalf, as the government barred him from entering the island.
In the same conversation, both addressed the political situation in Cuba. Fujimori was straightforward in describing the model that the island endures: “[Communism and socialism] have brought poverty, division, misery, and have taken away freedom,” she stated, although she expressed confidence that Cuba will manage to regain its freedom.
The clip shared by Cala on Instagram garnered over 53,000 reactions and nearly 3,700 comments, with messages of support from followers all over Latin America.
This is not the first time Cala has expressed this desire. In June 2024, he had already stated that he would like to be president of Cuba if the country underwent a democratic transition, although this time his request for mentorship from an elected head of state added an unprecedented dimension to that aspiration.
Fujimori, 51 years old, won the Peruvian elections by just 49,641 votes ahead of her rival Roberto Sánchez, and will take office on July 28, 2026, as the first woman elected president of Peru by popular vote, following four attempts.
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