Today she speaks to Jimmy Carter and considers him a mediator, and even offers him a gift of local delicacies offered, “On behalf of several alternative bloggers and other members of Cuban civil society.” Yoani has come a long way in her political views, and now spends her time speaking out on the rights of the Cuban people and trying to cut through the propaganda-
Time magazine listed Sanchez as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2008, stating that “under the nose of a regime that has never tolerated dissent, Sánchez has practiced what paper-bound journalists in her country cannot; freedom of speech.”
And even Barack Obama has said in reference to her blog, Generation Y, “(It) Provides the world a unique window into the realities of daily life in Cuba… empower[s] fellow Cubans to express themselves through the use of technology.”
To read more about this historical planned meeting of Yoani and Mr. Carter click here.
Yoani Sánchez is an unusual dissident: no street protests, no attacks on big politicos, no calls for revolution. Rather, she produces a simple diary about what it means to live under the Castro regime: the chronic hunger and the difficulty of shopping; the art of repairing ancient appliances; and the struggles of living under a propaganda machine that pushes deep into public and private life.