President Barack Obama -- who has pledged to restore long-frayed ties with Cuba -- is far more popular on the island nation as he is at home, a new poll finds.
The poll of Cubans by Fusion found that Cubans are “overwhelmingly supportive of normalizing relations with the U.S., optimistic about their future -- and bigger fans of Barack Obama than either Castro brother.”
The March 17-27 poll was conducted by the Miami-based firm Bendixen & Amandi on behalf of Univision Noticias/Fusion in collaboration with The Washington Post. It was conducted without the consent of the Cuban government and involved 1,200 interviews with Cubans across the island.
The poll found that 80 percent of Cubans have a positive opinion of Obama, compared to 47 percent favorable for Raul Castro and just 44 percent favorable for Fidel Castro. Gallup’s daily poll pegs Obama’s latest job approval rating at 46 percent favorable in the U.S.
Nearly all Cubans -- 97 percent -- think normalization of relations with U.S. is good for Cuba. And 58 percent think it favors Cuba more than the U.S. A majority -- 64 percent -- think new relations with the U.S. will lead to changes in the economic system, but only 37 percent think it will lead to changes in the political system.
Another poll suggests that a majority of Americans support normalization with Cuba as well. Both come as Obama heads to Jamaica and Panama for a summit with Latin American leaders and a likely encounter with Cuban leader Raul Castro.
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