President Miguel Díaz-Canel defended this Thursday the controversial increase in telephony and mobile internet rates as a necessary evil. At the same time, ETECSA president Tania Velázquez offered a public apology, amid social discontent and an unprecedented university protest that has caused a schism in the student body.
“Failing to implement these measures would mean forgoing revenue, without which we would be accelerating the already imminent collapse of the service,” Díaz-Canel stated, emphasizing that the country faces an “imminent technological collapse” if fresh foreign currency resources are not obtained as soon as possible.
In his regular podcast, Desde la presidencia (From the Presidency), Díaz-Canel acknowledged the strong social rejection, but insisted that ETECSA’s situation is critical and that the government is willing to make “corrections” and “continue seeking solutions.”
“We didn’t want this step, but it had to be taken,” he asserted. “There has never been a better time for measures that take away or limit social benefits that have been achieved, as is the case here,” he added.
He also admitted that “no measure limiting benefits pleases the Executive Branch” and that the current policy is setting back plans for the computerization of society.
Collective criticism
The president read a string of criticisms compiled by his analysis and communications team, including that the telecommunications monopoly’s measures “deepen the digital divide and affect everyone, not just students” while “many users feel harmed, especially those with lower incomes who lack access to foreign currency.”
Likewise, complaints and challenges were recorded regarding “the lack of consideration for workers, retirees, and other vulnerable sectors that also depend on connectivity.”
At the same time, questions were raised about “a state-owned enterprise imposing these measures, which they consider abusive and contrary to the well-being of the people,” in addition to criteria that discredit the argument put forward by “a state-owned enterprise that should be subsidized” and that, consequently, would be oriented toward “seeking other alternatives.”
Communication errors and student protests
The head of state suggested that the “errors” committed in disseminating the tax collection measures required “critical analysis” within the power apparatus, but at the same time stated that the main problem has been one of “communication” and promised that the government will “exhaustively” explain the situation.
These failures, according to the president’s view, brought about “counterrevolutionary hate platforms articulating a total campaign of discredit” and “media poisoning.” He also dismissed as “mean” the reports about the repression of students “who requested a review of the measures” by the telephone enterprise.
On the other hand, Díaz-Canel recognized the “constitutional right” that assists the students in their demands, but said that most of them “have been carried out within the framework of institutionality.”
Wave of indignation
The “tarifazo” (rate increase) has triggered a wave of indignation, especially in the university community, one of the government’s favorite venues for demonstrating political loyalties and social clout.
The positions of the faculties, all connected to the Federation of University Students (FEU), founded in 1922 by communist leader Julio Antonio Mella, range from critical and open to dialogue to surprisingly radical ones.
Faculties such as Mathematics and Computer Science, Engineering, Audiovisual Media and Biology publicly condemned and questioned the tax-revenue plan to get the telecommunications enterprise out of the red.
“We categorically reject ETECSA’s measures, considering them detrimental to social justice, as they widen social gaps, limit fundamental rights such as communication, and affect students’ and professionals’ access to essential resources,” stated a statement from the Faculty of Biology.
The text demanded “direct bilateral exchange” with members of the Council of Ministers, so that they could be heard as “legitimate actors in the construction of alternatives that benefit all of society.”
Some students even called for an academic strike, the scope of which is unclear, and absences from exams were reported, something unusual at the end of the school year.
To ETECSA what is ETECSA’s and to the government what is the government’s
Options that consider the entire population
The Expanded Council of the FEU of the Faculty of Communication at the University of Havana, while not accepting the 6 GB per month basic and mandatory plan offered by the enterprise to users, “until options that take the entire population into account are presented,” reiterated its commitment to “critical and strategic dialogue” to overcome the current disagreement.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Faculty of Psychology demanded a space for dialogue in which the real protagonists are the students, not their official representatives.
The future psychologists demanded a review of leadership at the faculty level and at the national FEU itself, demanding the immediate resignation of its president, Ricardo Rodríguez, for “the demonstrated inability to represent students,” a political earthquake in more than 60 years of history in a country where university autonomy does not exist, due to its repeal.
The same demand was shared by students from the Faculty of History, Philosophy, Sociology and Social Work (FHS-TS).
“Recognizing the legitimacy of the various courses of action taken so far by the faculties, we maintain our unacceptability regarding possible sanctions or reprisals against any student or faculty member at our University of Havana,” the Psychology Department stated in a statement.
ETECSA announced earlier this week that university students would be able to access two monthly packages in local currency, 12 GB total for 720 pesos, compared to one for the rest of the population — 6 GB for 360 pesos. However, the measure was rejected by the students themselves, who considered it insufficient and exclusionary.
“In the face of threats, they are defending the right to protest — the first of all rights; in the face of state ‘paternalism’ (paternalism is always a form of authoritarianism), which calls them, as always, “confused” and ‘incited from abroad,’ they have produced some of Cuba’s most important political documents in recent decades,” stated jurist and historian Julio César Guanche, former president of the FEU at the University of Havana in the 1990s.
ETECSA: apologies and red flags
ETECSA president Tania Velázquez offered a public apology for the impact of the new prices, although she insisted on the necessity of the measure. “We didn’t want this step, but it had to be taken,” she repeated, aligning herself with the presidential speech.
“We know that these measures have caused inconvenience and harm, especially among young people and students. We apologize and are open to hearing your proposals,” the official stated.
Velázquez explained that the enterprise is facing accelerated infrastructure deterioration and a dramatic drop in foreign currency revenue.
“New financial resources are essential due to the deterioration of the telecommunications infrastructure, which could lead to very serious partial, even general, impacts,” she warned.
As an example, she mentioned that the country has around 100 inoperative radio base stations that cannot be replaced and more than 2,000 that lack associated batteries, leaving them out of service during frequent power outages.
The official also specified that there are approximately 25,000 damaged telephony equipment that ETECSA cannot replace and a shortage of SIM cards that prevents the sale of new lines.
“Many devices and platforms are at imminent risk of experiencing a situation that seriously limits access to our services and even blocks them completely,” she stated.
In addition, she warned that many facilities lack adequate cooling systems, which jeopardizes their operation.
The president of ETECSA also revealed that foreign currency revenue has fallen 77% between 2018 and 2024, mainly due to the reduction in refills from abroad.
“This is due to the seizure of international refills,” she denounced, referring to entities and individuals offering refills in dollars at a better rate using the informal exchange rate, which is much higher than the official exchange rate.
To support her claims, Velázquez showed a graph demonstrating that in 2018 the enterprise earned an average of USD 133 per line acquired and that in 2024 it would only earn USD 31, an amount that does not support the monopoly’s operations.
Dollarized rates, insufficient wages and a multidimensional crisis
The package of measures, announced on May 30 and implemented two days later, establishes a basic monthly package of 6 gigabytes for 360 Cuban pesos (about $3 at the official exchange rate for individuals).
However, any additional refill, which ETECSA says will be reviewed in its segmentation, exceeds the monthly minimum wage or must be made in foreign currency from abroad, which is prohibitive for most Cubans.
The average salary in Cuba is 5,839 pesos, equivalent to about $16, according to the informal exchange rate, which the enterprise itself used for its contingency plans in USD.
The so-called rate increase occurs in a context of tension due to a prolonged and deep economic crisis that has not been fully resolved since the 1990s and that has devastated the country since the pandemic.
With a demographic crisis and an economy undergoing dollarization that has lost even minimal capacity for growth, society is burdened by a campaign of blackouts lasting up to 20 hours in the provinces, accompanied by a paralysis of other basic services such as water and public transportation, in addition to a lack of food, supplies of all kinds and basic medicines, as well as empty hospitals. All of this is compounded by inflation that is only modestly slowing its year-over-year growth rate.
Amid the torrent of comments on social media, one of the critical voices came from singer Heidi Igualada, who posted on her Facebook account in a popular summary: “ETECSA, the debt is yours, don’t take it off the backs of the people!”
