Cuban Government Dismisses Student Strike and Undermines Protests Against ETECSA

The Cuban government has once again dismissed claims of a student strike, attempting to undermine the movement of university students standing against the new tariffs imposed by the state-owned company, ETECSA. "Despite calls from abroad to create an atmosphere of chaos and discouragement within the university environment, the educational process continues its course," stated journalist Talía González on the National Television News (NTV), reiterating the official narrative that insists everything is normal in the classrooms.

The news segment, presented by Talía and Rei Gómez, highlighted the "debate between students and professors concerning the announcement of ETECSA's new measures and their impact on the university community," claiming that a "respectful dialogue to reach consensus" is ongoing. According to the report, these discussions have been utilized by the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU) to refute "any attempts to exploit these exchanges and debates to distort the authentic opinions and proposals of Cuban students."

The report concluded with interviews featuring students and FEU leaders who defended the official stance. "We advocate for constant dialogue and the appropriate channels to express discontent through the organizations as necessary," stated Daniel Alejandro Corrales, vice president of the FEU at the University of Havana. "Organizations do indeed support us; there is an alliance between the organization and the institution. Discontent does exist among the student body and the population due to the measures, but we always advocate for dialogue and mutual understanding," he added.

From the Communication Faculty, Journalism student Jorge Daniel García asserted, "As the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria, we are representing students in these debates because it is truly the students who are proposing actions." "The proposals for talks and discussions with ETECSA have emerged from dialogues with the FEU. We have accompanied and represented them at all times. These have been rigorous dialogues and debates to seek solutions," he concluded.

Widespread Opposition to ETECSA Tariffs and Cracks in the National FEU

Nevertheless, despite the official narrative, student statements have intensified in recent days. The Communication Faculty of the University of Havana publicized their decision not to accept the additional 6 GB package offered by ETECSA until "more effective solutions that consider the entire population" are presented. This decision was made by the Expanded Council of the FEU in that faculty, reaffirming their commitment to "critical and strategic dialogue as a tool to address, through intelligence, participation, and civility, the issues created by the new tariffs," but without accepting measures that create privileges.

Recently, the Faculty of Communication and Letters of the University of Holguín also announced and called for an indefinite academic strike starting June 7 "until the measures are revoked." "We are not a privileged minority; we are the voice of a people tired of paying for inefficiency," they asserted in their statement.

In parallel, Mathematics and Computing students reaffirmed in an assembly their decision to maintain the academic strike in protest against ETECSA's measures, describing them as "a direct assault on the Cuban people." "We mobilize for social justice, not for scraps," they wrote.

The Biology Faculty publicly disavowed the authority of the national president of the FEU, Ricardo Rodríguez González, accusing him of not representing the true opinions of the student body. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Philosophy, History, Sociology, and Social Work demanded his immediate resignation, labeling his management as "complacent, passive, and uncritical."

However, the National Television News suggests that nothing significant is occurring, implying that the academic year is nearly over, thus diminishing the significance of the thousands of students united for a cause they deem just.

Internet: A Right, Not a Privilege

In a partial response, ETECSA recently announced an additional 6 GB package for 360 CUP for university students, alongside free access to over 40 educational websites. However, students have rejected this, insisting they are not seeking sectoral privileges but rather equitable access to the internet for all citizens.

While the official stance continues to project an image of normalcy and ideological discipline, legitimate demands, organized protests, and calls for genuine dialogue are multiplying within the universities. Despite the governmental narrative, classrooms across the nation are brimming with challenging questions that can no longer be ignored. Denying the existence of a student strike and framing any discontent within an institutional "respectful dialogue" and "constructive debate" seeks to dilute the legitimacy of students' autonomous actions.

Rather than acknowledging the magnitude and spontaneity of the discontent spurred by ETECSA's new tariffs, the official apparatus prefers to portray a facade of functional normality and ideological cohesion, where the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria acts more as a containment body than as a genuine representative of student interests. This defensive attitude, rooted in delegitimizing critical voices within universities, highlights the regime's resistance to acknowledging any form of independent and cross-sectional organization.

The televised statements, carefully curated, emphasize a narrative of "dialogue within institutional channels" while ignoring the harsher criticisms emanating from the student base. Indeed, the growing rift within the FEU—with faculties openly challenging the authority of its national leadership—shatters the myth of a youth uniformly aligned with governmental tenets. The government's stance, by avoiding the real conflict in the classrooms, exposes its inability to connect with a generation demanding concrete changes, not empty rhetoric or fragmented solutions.