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Life Changes Little Under New Leader, Cubans Say

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By BILLY HOUSE

bhouse@tampatrib.com

Published: January 16, 2009

WASHINGTON - More than 92 percent of Cubans say they feel unaffected by the policy changes Raul Castro has instituted since he took over leadership of their island country from Fidel Castro in February 2008, a survey released today shows.

The survey of 592 Cuban adults older than 18 was commissioned by the International Republican Institute, a private nonprofit "democracy building" group chaired Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Other findings:

•While Raul Castro has officially lifted bans on the ownership of cell phones and personal computers, more than nine out of 10 adults in Cuba don't have access to cell phones, while about 80 percent of Cubans never use computers to access the internet and/or e-mail.

•In identifying the biggest problem in their country, Cubans cited low salaries (43 percent), food scarcity (12.8 percent) and housing problems (7.9 percent) most frequently.

•About 11 percent of Cuban adults - the island has an estimated 18-and-older population of around 8.5 million - say they have been directly affected by the damage of last fall's hurricane season, especially the destruction wrought by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

From Nov. 8 through 30, interviewers from Latin America engaged Cubans in public areas with a short repertoire of questions. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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