THE daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro said in an interview published in a Spanish newspaper Saturday that Cubans should be free to leave the country as they wish.

Cubans have to seek advance authorization to travel abroad.

“It is not necessary to deprive people of their right to leave. I think we should grant permission to all those who want to leave,” Mariela Castro said in reply to a question about the desire for Cubans to be allowed to travel freely, in an interview with La Vanguardia.

“People can leave, but with a great amount of difficulty,” admitted the sexologist who defends the rights of gay and lesbian minorities but who says she does not seek a political role in her homeland.

She believes her father, who in February succeeded his ailing older brother Fidel — the 81-year-old revolutionary icon — wants to usher in reforms but “slowly.”

“We do not want to install a consumer society, but to produce the goods and the services that people need,” Mariela Castro said.

She added that Cuba’s ruling party was far less rigid than it once was but would remain in power as long as Cuba was a “besieged country,” a reference to the United States and U.S. sanctions.

Raul Castro has tried to improve living standards by allowing Cubans to stay in tourist hotels, take out mobile phone contracts, and buy appliances such as computers, motorbikes and pressure cookers. (SD-Agencies)