Law Students File Lawsuit Against ETECSA for Illegal Tariffs and Breach of Contract

Law students from the University of Holguín have initiated an unprecedented public lawsuit against the state-run telecommunications company, ETECSA. They accuse the company of breaching contracts and infringing on fundamental rights following the recent imposition of new tariffs in foreign currency. The action, shared on social media by student René Javier, has gone viral, becoming a bold act of legal and civil resistance.

The students claim that ETECSA has implemented "unilateral" measures that undermine the right to communication, equality, and unrestricted Internet access. They assert that the company violated contractual clauses requiring prior notification to customers of any changes in service conditions. The students also object to the limited offer made to university students, describing it as "classist and unlawful."

Rather than providing relief, the students argue that the measures exacerbate social exclusion, dividing society between those who receive remittances and those who do not, and promoting a "covert dollarization" of Internet access that violates constitutional principles of social justice and equity. Beyond the legal content, the declaration represents an act of civic dignity. The students criticize the lack of support from the FEU and UJC, organizations that should, in theory, represent their interests.

Furthermore, they warn that any attempts at coercion, detention, or sanctions by public officials will be seen as punishable acts contrary to the law. "We reject any institution or official that opposes the exercise of the right to free consultation," they stated.

This action signifies a turning point in the relationship between the university youth and the authorities. Instead of yielding to fear or official propaganda, these students are invoking the legal framework, including articles from the Constitution, the Civil Code, and the Penal Code, to demand their rights. In a country where protests are often suppressed, this lawsuit serves as a wake-up call to the government: the university students are not only becoming aware, they are reading the law... and demanding its enforcement.

The complete text of the students' statement is shared here:

"WE, THE STUDENTS OF LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOLGUÍN,

From the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication (FACSOC), Celia Sánchez Manduley Campus. Cuban citizens, fully capable of exercising the Rights enshrined in the current Constitution of the Republic of Cuba.

We appear and declare through this document, fulfilling the demands of the student body to which we belong, to lodge a LAWSUIT REGARDING THE BREACH OF CONTRACT TERMS IN THE MEASURES ADOPTED BY THE CUBAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY, KNOWN AS ETECSA.

On May 30, 2025, the aforementioned state entity adopted a series of measures aimed at raising foreign currency, according to their own official statement, which is inadmissible and illogical in a country full of all sorts of shortages, where no one earns their salary in dollars or any other foreign currency, and also limits top-ups in the national currency. In all these years of ETECSA's existence, we have not seen any improvements in the service it provides. Furthermore, these announced measures not only attack our educational rights but also limit the free exercise of communication among human beings, the principle of equality, and unilaterally violate the clauses of the contract established by the company.

Recently, ETECSA and its main executives, during their appearances on the "Mesa Redonda" TV program, announced a series of measures intended to benefit a certain sector of society, in this case, the student community. We, in line with the Cuban student community and our sister faculties across the country, have raised our unanimous voices to oppose this measure, considering it exclusivist, classist, and unlawful. We join in the demand that all citizens should enjoy equal social rights without any distinction, a notion flagrantly violated by the evident and ever-growing dollarization of the Cuban economy, which deepens the gap across broad sectors of our society.

As inheritors of our rich traditions of solidarity with the people of which we are an inseparable part, we want to make it clear that we reject any manipulation of our feelings or attempts to delegitimize our thoughts and demands. Our feelings are genuine and arise from our commitment to our homeland and all Cubans, faithful to its sovereignty. We are not puppets of anyone, nor do we assume interests of others or from abroad.

In recent days, we have repeatedly demanded our representatives from the FEU and the UJC to accompany us at this moment, and all have categorically refused, so none of them have assumed the role they pledged to represent and serve. Therefore, we reject any institution or Public official that opposes THE EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT TO FREE, DIRECT, AND UNMONITORED CONSULTATION, as well as those who exert coercion, detention, harassment, separation, or institutional sanction on any student, teacher, or worker.

Moreover, we demand

A meeting, which will be substantiated through consensus and dialogue between ETECSA and the students in a peaceful manner within the period from June 6 to June 13 of this year, addressing the following points:

FIRST: That the Cuban Telecommunications Company, known as ETECSA, breached term No. 7 of its previous contracts:

"ETECSA will inform the customer, 30 calendar days in advance, of any modification in the service conditions"; and No. 19 of its new contracts, which we quote verbatim:

"ETECSA will inform the customer, 30 calendar days in advance, of any modification in the service conditions that affect the customer in any way: rate increase or any service that will no longer be provided, except for corrective actions necessary to be undertaken on the network, which may affect the service"; as stated in the prepaid mobile telephony service contract offered by the company, applying its measures unilaterally without providing prior notice on the date of May 30, 2025.

SECOND: That the aforementioned measure is unconstitutional in all its parts, contrary to the rule of law, and represents an affront to Socialist equality and Social Justice, as well as liberty, equity, and individual or collective prosperity as the political and social model of our country, given that the measures applied by the Cuban Telecommunications Company, known as ETECSA, on May 30, 2025, limit Cuban society's free access to Internet communication by limiting national top-ups to a maximum monthly amount of 360 CUP, proposing and coercing the acquisition of plans payable in CUP where the smallest of these plans occupies a figure of 3360 CUP, a figure that exceeds the minimum wage in the nation, proposing USD top-up plans from abroad, which represents a clear class division in our country and a dollarization of the service. Therefore, we request its immediate and total elimination.

THIRD: We reject the offer made by the Cuban Telecommunications Company, known as ETECSA, to acquire an extra monthly plan of 360 CUP for university students because we consider that this measure, in the first instance, does not meet the needs and monthly consumption of university students, in the second instance, represents a social segmentation of Cuban society, given that the average monthly consumption of a Cuban citizen exceeds the metric of 6 GB offered by ETECSA, much more in the case of a university student whose data expenses exceed the 12 GB that ETECSA mistakenly and out of context defines as standard.

FOURTH: We reject this measure for partially dollarizing communications in Cuba, which segments Cuban society between those who have access to dollars or can receive remittances or any other form of donation from people abroad and those who do not have such conditions, opportunities, and privileges, directly undermining the principles of the Constitution of the Republic.

FIFTH: We point out that the measure also directly affects those who engage in telework as a new form of work recognized in the new Labor Code, or use social networks for lawful purposes, students themselves who are linked to official Radio, Press or Television media that must create content or audiovisual materials, who are severely affected by the limitations that the measure represents. Also, unprotected sectors such as retirees, disabled people, household employees, and students from other levels of education.

SIXTH: We reject any attempt to delegitimize our thoughts and actions, demands or false accusations of manipulation, interference, or external intervention, given that the intention of this document is based on the evolution of the university students and citizens of the nation, in commitment to the homeland.

SEVENTH: We demand institutional recognition and respect for the peaceful, legitimate, and constitutional nature of the right to free, direct, and unmonitored consultation, as well as the deliberation, organization, and protest undertaken by university students from any university in the country. This is supported by the principles of popular participation, citizen sovereignty, freedom, and social responsibility of the socialist model of the Republic of Cuba.

EIGHTH: We publicly reject and denounce with enforceable criminal action any institution or public official who targets with coercion, detention, harassment, separation, or institutional sanction any student, teacher, or worker directly or indirectly participating in peaceful protests, demonstrations, or any forms used to demand their rights.

LEGAL FOUNDATIONS

FIRST: From the Constitution of the Republic of 2019.

a. ARTICLE 1. Cuba is a socialist state of law and social justice, democratic, independent, and sovereign, organized with all and for the good of all as a unitary and indivisible republic, founded on the work, dignity, humanism, and ethics of citizens for the enjoyment of freedom, equity, equality, solidarity, well-being, and individual and collective prosperity.

SECOND: From the Constitution of the Republic of 2019.

a. ARTICLE 42. All persons are equal before the law, receive the same protection and treatment from the authorities, and enjoy the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities, without any discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ethnic origin, skin color, religious belief, disability, national or territorial origin, or any other condition or circumstance implying a distinction harmful to human dignity.

THIRD: From the Constitution of the Republic of 2019.

ARTICLE 54. The State recognizes, respects, and guarantees individuals' freedom of thought, conscience, and expression. Conscientious objection cannot be invoked with the purpose of evading compliance with the law or preventing others from fulfilling it or exercising their rights.

FOURTH: From the Constitution of the Republic of 2019.

a. ARTICLE 61. People have the right to address complaints and petitions to the authorities, who are obligated to process them and provide timely, pertinent, and reasoned responses within the timeframe and according to the procedure established by law.

FIFTH: From the Civil Code of the Republic of Cuba; Law 59/87 reformed according to the Final Provisions of Law 156/2022, Family Code.

a. ARTICLE 325.1. Those who receive a deficient service have the right to file complaints with the entity or person who provided it.

b. 325.2. In the case provided in the previous section, the service provider must adopt appropriate measures to rectify deficiencies, fulfill the obligations of the service, and, failing that, compensate for damages and losses.

SIXTH: From Resolution 71/2021 of Labor and Social Security.

a. ARTICLE 7. Telework is a form of work organization where the worker performs an activity without being physically present at the entity; communication and the exchange of information necessary to carry out their work depend on information and communication technologies through the use of email, social networks, instant messaging, and other communication mechanisms guaranteed by the employer, without excluding face-to-face meetings.

SEVENTH: From the Penal Code, Law 151/2022

a. Article 384.1. Anyone who prevents another person from exercising the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and expression, exercised according to the Constitution of the Republic and the laws, is punished with imprisonment from six months to one year or a fine of one hundred to three hundred quotas, or both.

b. 2. If the crime is committed by a public official, abusing their position, the penalty is imprisonment from six months to two years or a fine of two hundred to five hundred quotas, or both.

c. Article 385.1. Anyone is punished with imprisonment from six months to one year or a fine of one hundred to three hundred quotas, or both, who, in violation of legal provisions:

a) Prevents a lawfully and peacefully intended association from functioning or a person from belonging to it;

b) Prevents the celebration of a meeting or demonstration for lawful and peaceful purposes or prevents a person from attending it;

c) Prevents or obstructs a person from directing complaints and petitions to the authorities.

g. 2. If the crime is committed by a public official, abusing their position, the penalty is imprisonment from six months to two years or a fine of two hundred to five hundred quotas, or both.

Since we currently lack the support of the FEU of the FACSOC of the University of Holguín, we refuse to receive their support once this document is made public.

We request a firm and immediate response from the defendant, declaring our claim valid with all its pronouncements within the required timeframe.

HOLGUÍN, THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2025."