09 June 2025

Cuba’s President has accused outside forces of trying to create unrest and instability following a badly mishandled announcement on 30 May of an immediate sharp increase in mobile internet rates by the state telecoms provider ETECSA

To the concern of government, which surprisingly had not foreseen the likely response, ETECSA’s statement was rapidly followed by widespread condemnation on social media and peaceful protests by students in several university faculties including at the University of Havana.

At press time, government remained in an ongoing dialogue with student groups whose concerns focus on the need for unlimited internet access to complete their studies, rather than on the concessions offered by ETECSA following its initial announcement.

Other student concerns expressed in assemblies and on social media criticised the initial failure of the national leadership of Communist Party-linked representative student bodies such as the Federation of University Students (FEU), to respond to the wishes of its faculty branches in relation to the issue.

Later in the week to try to address student concerns, Ricardo Rodríguez, the National President of the FEU told Juventud Rebelde that a multidisciplinary group aimed to analyse student opinion and proposals, as well as to work together with ETECSA to find solutions.

President recognises widespread dissatisfaction

Speaking alongside representatives of ETECSA on 6 June on his podcast ‘Desde la Presidencia’, President Díaz-Canel recognised “the dissatisfaction among the population, the misunderstandings, and the justifiable criticisms that have been levelled at the centre of the Party, the Government, and also the Ministry of Communications and ETECSA.”

These errors,” he said, “have caused misunderstanding, discontent, and criticism among the population, but they have also led to hateful, counterrevolutionary platforms coordinating a total campaign of discredit, slander, and lies that has sought to involve, with the worst tricks, one of the social sectors inseparable from the soul of the Revolution: our students, our beloved students, and the Cuban youth.”

His remarks followed meetings and peaceful protests in some university faculties as well as student criticism of the Communist Party youth-related bodies – the Federation of University Students (FEU), the Federation of Middle Level Education Students (FEEM), and the Union of Young Communists (UJC) – for failing to represent their views on the issue.

Recognising “that students, using their constitutional right, have demanded solutions from ETECSA, and from our government as well,” and that most have done so “within the framework of institutionality,” Díaz-Canel, asserted that their concerns were being hijacked.

Days after the ETECSA announcement, he said, an offensive had been launched “laden with lies, with posters and videos posted on social media” using he said, “manipulated images of university rallies and activities, to which fake photos and sound have been added.”

Highlights in this issue: 

• ETECSA says price hike is essential to assure future viability and to fund investment
• Rebuffed by State Department Cuban officials express concern about US intentions
• EU-Cuba PDCA Council to meet later this year
• Cuba stresses importance of continuity in its dialogue with Vatican
• Cuba confirms its commitment to China’s concept of a ‘shared future’

Government to resolve issues with students through dialogue, flexibility

In an indication of the sensitivity of the issue and the need for caution about how the still unresolved issues are addressed,  Cuba’s President noted on his podcast that government was trying to resolve the issue. It was doing so, he said, through dialogue.

“We have spoken with the students, they have had the opportunity to raise their concerns, and in fact, a set of responses have been provided,” he said.

However, in doing so he indicated a willingness “to continue seeking solutions, to continue expanding these measures as appropriately as possible, in line with the objectives we have set and in light of (students’) need.”

In his remarks Cuba’s President accepted that there had been “errors in the design” and “errors in the communication of the measures, perhaps because we lacked the necessary explanations and failed to consider the different needs and demands of each sector.” But failing to implement the measures would, he said, “mean forgoing revenue, without which we would be accelerating the already imminent collapse of the [ETECSA] service as a whole.”

Accepting that “we have underestimated the importance of these tools in such a complex scenario,” Cuba’s President indicated that further flexibility may be possible.

Based on dialogue and acknowledging errors, he said, “corrections have been made to the initial proposals …. and the possibility of further corrections have not been ruled out.” He also noted that “clear guidance on the actions the Party and the Government must take to address the problem, taking into account the criticisms and suggestions” had been provided.

ETECSA apologises

Speaking on the same programme, the President of ETECSA, Tania Velázquez,  said: “We have had failures in the implementation process, in the very design of the implementation of the measures.” “I cannot stop offering and apologising to our people, because this entire situation that has been generated by our system, by our company, by our service, forces us to do so. We cannot stop doing so, because it is something we deeply regret.”

News agencies report student concerns continue in some locations

The French news agency AFP reported days after the first announcement ETECSA that groups within some universities have called on students not to attend classes or are seeking a legal challenge against ETECSA’s decision based on what they believe to be a breach of contract. It quoted one student statement posted on Telegram as saying: “We invite the administration of our University of Havana to recognise this protest as legitimate in order to (…) avoid misrepresentation of our revolutionary and honest intentions.”

In response, AFP reported, the University of Havana administration warned on Facebook that “nothing and no one will interrupt our teaching processes with meetings that are completely removed from the spirit that has animated exchanges with student and youth organisations.”

Later in the week, EFE reported after visiting the University of Havana campus, that meetings continue at different schools to find solutions. Noting the newfound willingness of young people to articulate their opinions in this way, it wrote that “while not widespread or destabilising”, their concerns are “significant and striking because they represent unprecedented signs of unrest in Cuban universities, especially in the current context of the severe polycrisis and uncertainty.”

Communist Party calls for unity

Speaking earlier in the week and following the announcement by ETECSA that it would vary its pricing policy for students to its suddenly announced changes, Roberto Morales, the Secretary for Organisation of  the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party, denounced “media manipulations and opportunistic distortions …. taking advantage of our people’s legitimate concerns regarding necessary measures, such as those recently announced by ETECSA.” 

Calling for “revolutionary unity” in the face of “subversive campaigns and actions to destroy the Revolution,” he  referred to student discontent triggered by concerns about ETECSA’s rate hike, suggesting that “unity will prevent the incitement against young Cuban university students from taking the course of violence, contempt, and discord with the institutions to which their usual promoters aspire.”

Indicating that enemies “have taken advantage of legitimate concerns and natural dissent in a society to call for disorder and to obscure the value of spaces for dialogue, collective analysis, and listening ….” he said  that “the maturity of this people and, above all, of its youth, united in representative organisations like the FEU, has known how to apply the necessary and just brake, so that unfounded chaos has no entry point.”

ETECSA decision initially criticised by many Cubans

Over the weekend of 1-2 June, following the poorly handled announcement by ETECSA, criticism was widespread on social media, among students, and in in some official publications.

In developments that triggered a rapid response from Government and ETECSA, faculty groups affiliated to the FEU publicly criticised the telecoms provider’s sudden announcement of price hikes, as did social media users, one official publication, and others whose opinions normally reflect government’s view.

In the two days after the new prices were announced, FEU branches representing faculties of the University of Havana and the Higher Institute of International Relations, and groups representing medical sciences expressed their dissatisfaction while making clear their loyalty to government.

In doing so they variously observed that the ETECSA announcement represented  “a huge lack of respect for the Cuban people” and limited university students’ ability to learn, research, and develop in an increasingly digital world. In doing so they expressed an openness to dialogue and to seeking solutions.

In a separate and unusual development, an editorial in Girón, the official provincial publication for Matanzas,  while recognising the financial constraints  ETECSA was operating under, criticised the huge price increase and other measures announced, noting they were trending on social media and in private conversations.  Writing on its Facebook page, Girón observed that connectivity is not a luxury, but “a tool for work, study, communication, and development,” before asking whether there was not “a middle ground between ETECSA’s financial strangulation and the economic strangulation of users?” 

” Girón understands the urgency of foreign currency that motivated ETECSA. The blockade is real, the crisis is fierce. But we believe that, to support this process and provide accurate and truthful information to the people and users detailed and public explanations of the investment and improvement plan are needed, as well as information on whether alternatives will be explored to alleviate the impact on the productive and lower-income sectors,” it wrote.

The method of communication was also criticised on social media by Israel Rojas, a member of the popular trova band Beuna Fe, who normally supports the Cuban government.”ETECSA’s ‘rate increase’ is riddled with all the flaws of current Cuban political communication . The technical and objective reasons, even though they are undeniable, end up seeming uncertain, unfair, and erratic,” he wrote.

Responding initially to the widespread concern, President Díaz-Canel wrote on X “We do not like any measure that limits benefits, and it is our duty to thoroughly explain each step taken to avoid the blows of the blockade” 

ETECSA offer special deal for students

At a national level FEU representatives then met with  senior Communist Party figures, the Union of Young Communists (UJC), Government officials, the Higher Education Ministry, and the Federation of Middle Level Education Students (FEEM).

Following the meeting, the FEU issued a statement saying that it had allowed for a “contributory dialogue and important solutions.”

Subsequently, ETCSA said that special arrangements would apply for students. These, it noted, will enable University students to access two top-ups of CUP360 rather than one, to enable them to now access 12 GB of data. Such users according to Tania Velázquez, the Executive President of ETECSA will be registered in the company’s database. She added that other measures will be introduced in educational environments including free access to educational and information sites via the mobile network, Wi-Fi hotspots will be strengthened and increased in universities, and data centres will be established to host scientific journals. Despite this, the measures announced for most Cubans including professionals, pensioners, and others remain in place, effectively restricting internet access for many.

09 June 2025, Issue 1283

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