What Cubans Think About The U.S. Midterm Elections

"Trump came along, and everything changed," said Arley Roger, private sector worker.

"The Cuban people are the ones who suffer from decisions like that," said a young man interviewed in Havana.

"I'd ask them, please, to help the people without strangling us in the process," said two young women in a park.

"Cubans cannot vote in U.S. elections. Of course not! Yet those results can affect their daily lives as much as they do the lives of people in the United States," said Liz Oliva Fernández, journalist with Belly of the Beast.

"That's because the Trump administration is waging an economic war on Cuba that has made it a struggle just to get by. Congress can change that," she said.

"So what do Cubans think about these midterm elections, especially when there is so much at stake for them and they have no say in the outcome?" Oliva Fernández asked.

"Are you following the U.S. midterm elections?" she asked a passerby.

"No," the passerby replied.

"No, I haven't been able to," said a woman in blue.

"If there's no electricity, how are we supposed to watch it on TV? We can't. There's no information, no connection, nothing," said a woman interviewed outside a Cadeca currency exchange.

"Only from what I've heard people say," said María de los Ángeles Almeida, human resources specialist.

"Why are you following them?" Oliva Fernández asked.

"Because I'm interested in what's going on," Almeida said.

"How does U.S. policy toward Cuba affect your daily life?" the journalist asked.

"With all the problems we're facing with fuel, transportation and electricity," said Dr. Yunisleidis Leiva, proctologist.

"Above all, my work at the hospital, where shortages are so severe. The children, the chemotherapy drugs they need, the food, the nutrition, everything," Almeida said.

"Because before they tightened the U.S. blockade we had shortages, we had problems, but nothing like this," she added.

"Trump came along, and everything changed," Roger said.

"His immigration system deports people over the slightest thing. I imagine the people at the bottom don't benefit from that. I don't think he has the support of the majority," said a man in a blue pullover.

"My husband's been there for many years and still hasn't gotten residency, because he doesn't want to grant residency to practically any Cuban," said the woman interviewed outside the Cadeca.

"There could be a shift that tips the balance toward the Democrats in the elections and costs him control of Congress," the man in the blue pullover said.

"What would you like people who vote, especially Cuban Americans, to know?" Oliva Fernández asked.

"They should remember their people, their roots. People here are struggling. They may have a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a relative living here who could be dying in a hospital without medication because of them," Almeida said.

"There are many Cubans over there who are against us. And that's a shame, because they're still Cuban, and their roots are here," said Eldis Rivero, secretary.

"The Cuban people are the ones who suffer from decisions like that," the young man said.

"And don't you think these elections will have a major impact on the lives of Cubans?" the journalist asked.

"It's the same, and everything will stay the same. Nothing we say makes any difference. We don't influence any decision," said a builder sitting outside Restaurante Milán.

"I'm convinced that if there's a new Congress with a Democratic majority after these elections, things will improve for Cuba. That is, there will be some easing. And if things don't improve and the measures against Cuba aren't eased, at least Trump won't be able to pass laws that strangle us further," the man in the blue pullover said.

"What would you like U.S. voters to keep in mind when they cast their ballots in these elections?" Oliva Fernández asked.

"I'd ask them, please, to help the people without strangling us in the process," the two young women said.

"And a military invasion, even less so. Because can you imagine anything worse than war? There's never justification for that," the man in the blue pullover said.

"If the situation gets worse I don't know where we'll end up," said a young woman interviewed in the same location as the woman outside the Cadeca.