Cuban Student Challenges ETECSA: "Where Did All the Money Go?"

A medical student passionately voiced her concerns in Havana this Thursday, targeting the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA) over recent restrictions on national recharges and the increasing dollarization of their services. The student's remarks, which quickly gained traction on social media, highlight the growing dissatisfaction among many Cubans with the state-run company's policies.

"With due respect to ETECSA, founded on December 1, 1994, I remind you that your mission was to modernize and expand telecommunications services in the country," the student began, before launching into a critique of ETECSA's management, citing high tariffs and limited accessibility for the majority of Cubans.

She not only questioned the service quality but also scrutinized how the millions in revenue collected by the company over the years have been utilized. In a particularly striking moment, she asked, "Where did all the money go, and why must the people bear the consequences of its mismanagement and poor investment?"

Impact of New Restrictions

With a firm tone and clear language, she condemned the social impact of new restrictions that limit recharges from within the country, leaving thousands of families without an accessible means of communication, while foreign currency options remain the only viable alternatives.

The student argued that measures such as offering free Wi-Fi in schools or making virtual classrooms accessible do not address the core issue and criticized ETECSA for not prioritizing these initiatives when the internet first reached the island. "Providing free Wi-Fi in schools or free virtual classrooms is not the solution," she stated.

A Call for Change

"Today, I am not just a member of the FEU; I am every elderly person whose pension cannot cover basic needs—let alone these prices. I am that family member whose only way of communication is a video call. I am this student who understands how many doors the internet can open," she added. Her words underscore a reality shared by many young Cubans, who see connectivity not just as a right but as a crucial tool for personal and professional development.

Public Support and Government Response

The response on social media was swift, with many Cubans publicly supporting the student's intervention, acknowledging the importance of her message and the lack of such questioning in official media. "The student’s questions were precise and bold; my respects. These questions should have been asked by the Cuban press, but they weren’t," commented one user.

Officially, however, the reaction was less than accommodating. The academic strike that began on June 4 has spread to universities nationwide, particularly the University of Havana. Facing the growing student movement, the government has closed ranks.

In his weekly podcast "From the Presidency," Miguel Díaz-Canel, alongside ETECSA director Tania Velázquez, affirmed that there would be no reversal of the tariff increases. Díaz-Canel stated that suspending the measures would mean "renouncing revenues needed to maintain the service," warning of a possible "technological collapse" without such unpopular decisions.

An Unyielding Movement

Despite the regime's attempts to discredit the academic strike—accusing students of external manipulation—the movement continues to articulate clear demands: fair tariffs, equitable internet access, and the resignation of FEU president Ricardo Rodríguez González, criticized for defending government interests over those of the students.

Another student declared, "ETECSA is a state-owned company" and "is acting against the people." In the face of censorship, apathy, and fear, Cuban students are proving they refuse to be mere spectators of decline; they aim to be the catalysts of change.

Their fight challenges not just ETECSA or university authorities but a whole nation that has learned to resist in silence and is now beginning, gradually, to speak out loud.