IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 121 
Honoring Yoani Sa´nchez, a courageous blogger and activist for freedom 
in Cuba. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 15, 2013 
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself and Mr. SIRES) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring Yoani Sa´nchez, a courageous blogger and activist 
for freedom in Cuba. 
Whereas Yoani Sa´nchez has become a prominent voice 
through social media for millions of Cubans who reject 
the oppression of the Castro regime; 
Whereas Yoani Maria Sa´nchez Cordero was born in Havana, 
Cuba, on September 4, 1975, and went on to major in 
Spanish Literature at the Pedagogical Institute before 
completing a degree in Hispanic Philology at the Univer-
sity of Havana in 2000; 
Whereas while working at Editorial Gente Nueva, Sa´nchez 
came to the realization that, like many Cubans, the 
wages she earned legally were not enough to support her 
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•HRES 121 IH 
family and highly qualified individuals were unable to 
find sufficient work; 
Whereas disenchanted and seeking greater economic opportu-
nities, she moved to Switzerland in 2002 but returned to 
Cuba in the summer of 2004, discovering her passion for 
computer science; 
Whereas in 2004, Sa´nchez and a group of like-minded com-
patriots founded Consenso, a magazine of reflection and 
debate, and three years later she worked as a web mas-
ter, columnist, and editor for the website Desde Cuba; 
Whereas in April 2007, Sa´nchez created the blog known as 
‘‘Generation Y’’, which started as an outlet for self-ex-
pression but has since found an audience with 500,000 
people around the world; 
Whereas through her weekly blog posts, tweets, and Facebook 
updates, Sa´nchez has provided an unfiltered glimpse into 
the realities of day-to-day life in Cuba; 
Whereas the Castro regime has branded Sa´nchez as a dis-
sident and, since March 2008, blocked access to her blog 
from within Cuba, where mobile phones, flash drives, and 
used laptop computers have become lifelines of commu-
nication given economic and government barriers to the 
Internet; 
Whereas Sa´nchez refused to be silenced and continued to 
write with the help of friends and volunteer collaborators 
abroad, who post her entries in solidarity and have trans-
lated Generation Y into 20 languages; 
Whereas in 2009, she became the first blogger to ever inter-
view United States President Barack Obama, who ap-
plauded her efforts to ‘‘empower fellow Cubans to express 
themselves through the use of technology’’; 
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•HRES 121 IH 
Whereas Sa´nchez is the recipient of numerous honors and 
awards for her activism, including the Ortega y Gasset 
Award for Digital Journalism in 2008, being named one 
of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the 
World in the ‘‘Heroes and Pioneers’’ category for 2008, 
the Maria Moore Cabot Prize from Columbia University 
in 2009 for coverage of Latin America, and the Inter-
national Woman of Courage Award from then Secretary 
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2011; 
Whereas Sa´nchez attempted to travel outside of Cuba on 20 
occasions, often at the invitation of universities and book 
fairs to honor her with awards, but was repeatedly denied 
the required exit visa; 
Whereas in January 2013, the Cuban Government lifted trav-
el restrictions for citizens and issued Sa´nchez a passport, 
allowing her to embark on an 80-day international tour, 
including Brazil, the Czech Republic, Spain, Mexico, and 
the United States, to share her experiences living under 
the Castro regime firsthand; 
Whereas on her first United States visit, she will meet with 
Members of Congress in Washington, DC; 
Whereas Sa´nchez intends to return to Havana, where she 
lives with her husband Reinaldo and their 20-year-old son 
Teo, and dreams of starting an independent news outlet, 
saying, ‘‘Life has taught me that the wall comes tum-
bling down only when you push it’’; and 
Whereas despite violent attacks and protests from Castro 
supporters and leftists, Sa´nchez has vowed to never stop 
writing until the people of Cuba are able to express their 
views freely, saying, ‘‘We Cubans don’t deserve what we 
are living through. I think Cubans deserve to be citizens 
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•HRES 121 IH 
of the 21st century, in all senses, to test the challenges 
of modernity.’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) honors Yoani Sa´nchez, a courageous blogger 
and activist for freedom in Cuba, for her ongoing ef-
forts to challenge political, economic, and social op-
pression by the Castro regime; 
(2) joins Sa´nchez and her fellow activists in 
looking forward to the day when all Cubans can 
freely express themselves in public without fear of 
reprisal; and 
(3) supports the first amendment rights of all 
people in the United States, and commends those in-
dividuals who have dedicated their lives to protecting 
and strengthening these rights in the face of adver-
sity. 
Æ 
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