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00:00From our studios in New York City this is Mariela Castro as spin is here. She is the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education in Havana and she is also a gay rights activist. Her Havana based organization campaigns for effective AIDS prevention and LGBT rights. Last month she led the largest gay pride parade ever held in Cuba . She is a daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and the niece of the former president Fidel Castro. I had lunch dinner with her in Havana. So I'm pleased to welcome her to my table for the first time. Welcome. Tell me what brings you to New York . Well I'm here with the Cuban delegation presided by the Minister for Public Health to participate in a high level meeting called by the U.N. agency created for the pandemic of HIV AIDS in order to establish new agreements amongst the governments for their internal national policies in order to accelerate the end of the pandemic of HIV AIDS. Are we making serious progress do I think so. I guess we have to recognize that the efforts have been made particularly since the first meeting the first high level meeting in 2001. There's been much progress. Programs of action and better understanding of the complexity of HIV epidemic which is not just a health problem it's a human rights problem and it's a very complex social program. And so we need programs that are very engaged policies that are engaged social and public health policy's attention to health and reproductive reproductive rights and no discrimination and no stigma against anybody. How did you come to be the advocate that you have become we don't want this anymore. There's something in my past. My mother as a political director and social activist in Cuba had started some work in favor of LGBT people at a political level. But she was not able to advance as much as she wanted. And when I did some research on her life when she got sick I found out that even in 1974 she polls that in the new family code that was approved in 1975 . Marriage was considered a legal union among two people without taking into consideration their sex. It was very advanced for that time but that was not the best moment for her. Her ideas to be well received but she left as some kind of seed because when she realized she was sick and she was not going to be able to continue with the subject and I was already a director of the Center for Sexual Education which gave me some credibility to take care of this subject. Then I started taking care of these subjects. You had a gay rights parade you sponsor a gay rights parade in Havana. I mean is Cuba changing . See. Yes. We started organizing these educational activities for education communication artistic. Since 1980 97 and RTs . And now we have just celebrated the 9th version of these parades . This has contributed a lot from the political point of view it expression in the law. In the making the impact of the awareness change in our population and our population is not violent. It's not a characteristic of ours. So it's very rare to have hate crimes. But there is a psychological by ambulance as there is a social exclusion and rejection not accepting LGBT people. And with our work we are helping build into the population as a whole and to think about it and particularly at the level of the political discourse these subjects speak in a good position. Marriage equality is there a strong push for marriage equality in Cuba as there has been here in the United States No. No not. No pressure from the population. If we the Center for Sexual Education are promoting the political and legislative changes that we're having in our country country include the equality for couples of the same sex the same as heterosexual couples. When we speak of all the rights for all the peoples we also have to include that option as a marriage. At the same as heterosexual couples you're also in the government what is your role there . We know a man my role as a director of the National Center for Sexual Education at the legislative level. Our proposals should be reflected in the decisions that are made but also in social activism social practice and I could say even in the judicial system in Cuba in general so that there are important changes in relation to understanding sexual rights as human rights. We have advanced but we still have challenges. We have witnessed a remarkable change in the relationship between the United States and Cuba Secretary of State Kerry. President Obama had visited and met with your father in Havana. How would you characterize the developing relationship . One of the most important thing is that there is now a clear will from both governments to start a normalization of relations . But this process to normalize relations is very difficult and it is going to be a long process because there are many obstacles that will make it difficult. The first one being the economic financial and commercial blockade which is a type of hostility within the international law. How can the two countries want to normalize relations when there are some norms of rules and particularly such an aggression that makes it difficult even to put in place the ICJ actions that would be needed to normalize relations. So the hardest bit is that the best thing is to see that there is goodwill that a bilateral commission has been created in order to advance the proposal . And I think there is good wishes from both parts. But we have to find the road that will allow us to advance faster. Clearly the embargo is a product of Congress and the president has often said he'd like to see the embargo end. What steps can be taken other than lifting of the embargo to make this relationship be on a track well no. In the U.S. people can have an important role. But in putting pressure on their representatives at the highest level of decision making in the U.S. government and the media are journalists. We celebrities public media personalities can contribute really. We'll have a long eliminate that and a unilateral decision from the U.S. government which is also the main obstacle for the development economic development of Cuba and it creates problems with relationships with other countries. And they also violate the rights of the American people they cannot travel to Cuba they cannot invest in Cuba they can not export their products to Cuba . There's many problems that this law generates. So I believe that the more the people will know the more the politicians will know in this country the more probabilities there will be for a positive influence to eliminate it. If in fact it is eliminated it will open the gates to an exchange culturally in every other way economically politically between these two countries yes of course that is our wish is the wish of the people and the government of Cuba since the triumph of the revolution to 1959 but the response has been hostility and we have to negotiate and a United States is not going to come now and appropriate Cuba for itself. No we have to negotiate for our sovereignty for the respect and reciprocity which has been the case since the beginning of the normalization process. And if this continues this way I am. I trust that will happen. Did President Obama in his speech to Cuba and to the Cuban people resonate with them about the good intentions that he felt to make this leap forward did they feel enthusiastic about the step by the president . Engage about wait and see. I can tell you that at first there was a great reception scene for President Obama. We feel very close to him in his policies because he's the first president that has facilitated this encounter. He's the first one to go and visit Cuba since the triumph of the revolution . He was the one who participated in the negotiation with the Cuban president so that the five Cuban heroes that were unfairly in prison in the United States went back could not go back to Cuba which was one of my main wishes of the Cuban people right . And then we were also similar ise that relations were re-established. I think Obama has very good intentions. And I think he has made great strides but not at all the ones that he could have. So at that meeting with the Cuban people he spoke but he didn't hear that many things that the Cuban people would have wanted to present to him to tell him. He gave his speech and then he left . So I hope we can have another meeting with President Obama . But that's why I mean you're here and you can tell us. So what is it. What would they want to hear if he had stayed longer . What do you want to tell us about Cuba and the future of Cuba and the United States. Your father said Don't expect the politics of Cuba to change. That's not part of the bargain . Cuba is changing economically and that will have an impact . These activity which Emily Chang. I heard a lot of people who were at that meeting and they will say I really felt the wish to could say many things to Obama. And among the things the activists from and geos said the first thing is to eliminate the embargo. And to ask the European banks to trust us and do financial activities with us. Such as they are now doing with Iran do the same for Cuba. It's very difficult to develop a country where every little piece of bread has to be divided among so many people with such a few resources. We are like a country under siege and we also need to get the territory of Guantanamo back. It's a Tom MacKenzie really messed up the Cuban government to get Guantanamo back you can go and the government represents the people and no people want they don't have a piece of that territory taken and taken from their mates has valuable economic and tourist value . It's an important part of our geography you know about this country wants to be humiliated by having a piece of its land occupied. That is another request. We also want more efforts for world peace. We could have asked for many things but I'm not sure this is the right way to tell you. It's helpful if you tell us. I mean Guantanamo is one and the Americans ask for things as well as you know Cuba becomes because we've had a political campaign. Different opinions about foreign policy and some American politicians say I'd like to see more human rights in Cuba. I would like to see less political prisoners. I would like to see Cuba exercise more respect for the freedom of expression when. Well I have to tell you that of all of these things that you just enumerated. It has been shown with enough evidence with not proof that Cuba applies the human rights conventions at a much higher level than the United States does. And this was said to the American journalist by the Cuban president with along with the American president when he was in Cuba. You say I don't know. All governments have a special agenda that they haven't achieved yet on human rights. Nobody has reached at 100 percent. The important thing is to have the goodwill to advance in that direction. And the Cuban government has as an objective and to advance as much as possible towards these goals. It is also coherent with these social revolutionary project that has been defended since 1959. That is part of my job to defend the sex rights which are not perhaps recognized in a certain sense in these documents but they are recognized as rights and we want these things to be included. And the freedom of expression is a big cliché that has been created it a way. I appreciate it fully. Yes it's a great big cliche. The Cuban people has to always give an opinion even what they love the most and even their engagement they always question everything they always doubt about everything and this is something I really like about being a Cuban. Cuban and about the Cuban people we always question everything. We have freedom of expression. The media responds to those who pay them. And that happens everywhere here and everywhere else. So go to Cuba go and look at all the blogs that are written in Cuba. All the social networks we question everything. And that is very good. It makes the society move and transform. What else. The. But I mean there are others who suggest that's not the case. Yes you question everything you can have lots of questions about America and its own standards its values its institutions. You have a perfect great. And we hope that you will ask questions about America and institutions. But America in terms of healing a long rift between two countries is asking about the nature of Cuba today . And there are those who say that we think that there is not the level of freedom of expression and protection of individual liberties that they would like to see. Tom Keene and below to those who don't believe there is freedom of expression. I invite you to come to Cuba and to talk with the Cuban people come meet us touch us. If you cannot e and categorize a country and give it a judgment from prejudice and from people then slogans that have been used from the seat of power so that we can do or say or what is the best for the most powerful groups that want the revolution to fail. And why did they wanted to fail so that they can dominate us. This country has been a resistance all the time in any revolution any movement of constant criticism constant creativity. The ones who know are difficult these the best that are ourselves and we talk about them constantly and we do not agree with each decision. I myself I don't always agree with all the things that my father decides within the government because he is not the president of Cuba. He is a president of the State Council and the minister's council. So he doesn't decide it's a collective decision. It's a big structure but I'm not always. I do not always agree. And I always discuss it as many people do when they write and they publish and dialog spaces are created and this is important because we should constantly under there in front of any challenge to create a new society. Any new economic and social system in the Caribbean. Some other countries tried a different way towards more fair societies. We are trying to create our own social and fair society. We have to be very brave in order to go against these big countries but they thought what we say they take when they try not to show what happens in Cuba. So that's one has to be courageous and probably easy to get in the face of government. And this has to be done. And that is constantly a process is it to invent our socialism invent our democracy as our decision people decision. Nobody has achieved it yet and we are doing our best to point one ise sir. I mean clearly many many people in power in America many journalists citizens religious groups want to come to Cuba and I think they all would welcome your ideas. Which is to say we invite you to come see for yourself what Cuba is like. And that is helpful and positive and encouraging. The other thing is also to eliminate misconceptions about two countries of which steps are being taken to do that with face to face meetings between the president of the respective countries. Do you believe. Does your government believe that America wants to dominate Cuba or is that part of a history that is no longer here do you accept the idea that America does not want to dominate Cuba . They remain the everyday news show that the United States wants to dominate the world not just Cuba. They intervene in countries with low blows in order to have a monopoly of material resources from certain areas in the world. And not say in the United States but it is the very powerful groups that could develop these policies. They never get enough with what they have. They want to have a monopoly of resources in this world. That's just not right. They do everything in order to achieve. They destabilise governments. They give them anything but governments in trouble so that they can then come in and give humanitarian aid and then they dominate them. So what happens is chaos. Violations of human rights why are we embargoed. Why does the United States deal with the embargo. At least this government is trying to eliminate it. But there are some groups that because of economic interests I think you have to keep Cuba in difficulties until Cuba says I give up. And then they will have obscure policy that will be convenient for their dominating interests. I think this idea of they do not want to dominate us . I don't think even the most ignorant person would accept this . I think they want to dominate us in this geopolitical space .

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Mariela Castro: Charlie Rose

On "Charlie Rose," a conversation with Mariela Castro. She is the director of the Cuban National center for Sex Education in Havana and a gay rights activist. Her Havana-based organization campaigns for effective AIDS prevention and LGBT rights. Last month she led the largest gay pride parade ever held in Cuba. She is the daughter of Cuban president Raoul Castro and the niece of the former president, Fidel Castro. (Source: Bloomberg)

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