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Cuban journalists, asked by the Lebanese Mayadeen TV channel to sum up President Obama's visit to their country, were very critical of the U.S. president, accusing him of trying to stir up rebellion and "to pit the government and the people one against the other." Journalist Rosa Miriam Elizalde said that the visit was a great victory for Cuba because it was the U.S. - and not Cuba - that had changed its rhetoric and position. Journalist Iroel Sanchez, who described Obama's use of Cuban-Spanish words as "pathetic," concluded that relations with the U.S. would not change Cuba's anti-imperialistic culture. The interview aired on April 3, 2016.
Following are excerpts
Cuban Journalist Rosa Miriam Elizalde: We Cubans feel that what happened constitutes a great victory to our country. It was undoubtedly the American government that changed its rhetoric and its position, while Cuba did not relinquish anything.
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Obama went to dine at a private restaurant, because he came to sell us the notion that the private sector would save Cuba, and to call upon us to embrace capitalism. A renowned Cuban pundit said that Obama was trying to pit the people and the government one against the other, and to generate a conflict between the private and public sectors, by his natural inclination to the private sector.
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Cuban Journalist Iroel Sanchez: Obama spoke in the local Cuban dialect. He was like a child who has just learnt how to speak, and who discovers a new word, so he repeats it time and again. I think it was a little stupid. The first time it was funny, but the second time it was pathetic. He brought with him a bunch of stereotypical ideas. He brought with him a bunch of stereotypical ideas. He had heard from his advisors a little bit about the Cuban reality, but he reiterated stereotypical ideas that are in line with the Miami perspective. But Cuba is not Miami. So he lost the ability to connect with the people, having come in an attempt to make the people love him.
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Cuban Journalist Arleen Rodriguez Derivet: At times, what Obama said sounded like a call for rebellion.
Iroel Sanchez: Exactly.
Arleen Rodriguez Derivet: He said that the people have the right to express themselves and to rebel.
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Iroel Sanchez: It reminded me of his speech at Cairo University in 2009, in which he approved of the so-called "Arab Spring," which crushed secular societies and imposed religious fanaticism.
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When he talks about the empowerment of the Cuban people, he actually means the establishment of an elite that will destroy the country, and guarantee his own interests. This is exactly what is happening in the countries neighboring Cuba.
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Arleen Rodriguez Derivet: I believe that the principal error Obama made in his speech was his scorn for the culture of the country he was visiting.
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Iroel Sanchez: I believe that his speech was extremely simplistic. He talked about (Cuban prima ballerina) Alicia Alonso and about the rapper Pitbull. He placed them on the same level, although the two cannot be compared. They have nothing in common. He compared the profound and deep-rooted culture (of Alonso) to a primitive commercial phenomenon.
Arleen Rodriguez Derivet: Right. That is what I said earlier. They are trying to understand Cuba through Miami.
Iroel Sanchez: Exactly. Remember what he said on December 17, 2014. He said: "Miami is the capital of Latin America." That is how he sees things.
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Rosa Miriam Elizalde: They are acting according to the hypothesis that the Cuban people is similar to the American people. Their people have a weak memory. They are ready for someone to tell them a story today, and to forget everything that happened in the past. We are not like that. We have a history of over 100 years of fighting the designs of the US, which wishes to annex Cuba to its territory.
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Iroel Sanchez: In his speech, Obama used the word "change" 14 times. This is the method they use: Repeat, repeat, repeat.
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Rosa Miriam Elizalde: Even if Obama had nothing to do with the assassination of Che Guevara, which was carried out by his American predecessors, he represents the country that assassinated him. Therefore, many Cubans felt humiliated. (Being photographed with an image of Che in the background) was not nice of him. This was not a move toward reconciliation. He did not apologize at any point, and did not even mention this incident, which caused great pain in this country.
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Iroel Sanchez: Cuba did not and will not change even one iota of its fundamental positions. Cuba reiterates its support of the Palestinian and the Sahrawi peoples.
Arleen Rodriguez Derivet: And the Syrian people.
Iroel Sanchez: Right. The Syrian people, which has been a long-time friend of Cuba. The relation with the US will not be able to make the slightest change in the anti-imperialist culture of the Cuban people.
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