ETECSA announced a new set of measures that severely restrict the use of the Cuban peso (CUP) for mobile top-ups and instead promotes data packages in US dollars.
Beyond the immediate perplexity and indignation caused by the announcement, the reaction that the new regulations provoked in the Cuban digital ecosystem was surprising, especially on the regime's official portal Cubadebate, where the news sparked a wave of comments expressing anger that exceeded the usual boundaries of criticism on the island.
The decision to limit top-ups in CUP to a maximum of 360 pesos per month and to offer data plans in foreign currency was perceived by many as the formalization of the dollarization of mobile services in Cuba.
The announcement, accompanied by a technocratic language and promises of technical "improvements," was followed by a popular reaction rarely seen in official voices or state media. Within hours, more than 1,300 comments flooded the official page of Cubadebate. And this time, the tone was not one of resigned approval, but of unfiltered outrage.
"Commercial offers," or how to call it deprivation
ETECSA presented the changes as an update of its "commercial offers", but for citizens living and earning in Cuban pesos, the term felt like an insult.
A reader summarized it with bitter irony: “Let’s be serious. This isn’t an offer; this is armed robbery. Another attack on those who already have very little.”
The contrast between the minimum wage on the island and the new prices is staggering. A plan of 15 GB in CUP costs 11,760 pesos, an amount that exceeds a state worker's monthly income several times over.
Another package priced in dollars offers 4 GB for 10 USD, accessible only to those with international cards or a balance in Monedero MiTransfer, which effectively excludes millions of Cubans.
A limit that tightens the rope further
The new rules not only increase the cost of access: they directly limit the amount of CUP that a user can recharge, thereby restricting their internet access.
From now on, no one will be able to add more than 360 pesos to their prepaid line in a month. That amount, barely symbolic, is only enough to purchase a minimal fraction of data or minutes.
"The supply booklet has arrived at ETECSA.", comentó un internauta, señalando el paralelismo entre el sistema de racionamiento alimentario y esta nueva política digital. "An extra plan exceeds the minimum wage. This is indeed an achievement of the Revolution.", añadió otro.
Indignation within official circles
But what marks a turning point in this episode is not just the numbers or the technical changes. It is the fact that all these criticisms are being written within Cubadebate, a medium historically aligned with the government’s official stance.
There, where automatic moderation and institutional discourse usually prevail, hundreds of messages of rejection, sarcasm, and citizen fatigue poured in.
Someone wrote: “They regulate your money and open their mouths for dollars, hypocrites”. Another comment highlighted the social distance between those who make decisions and those who suffer the consequences: “Very fortunate is the one who makes decisions from an air-conditioned office with a car waiting outside. Where is the people?”.
The emergence of such messages on an official platform is more than just an anecdote: it is a sign of the level of weariness and disconnect between the state discourse and everyday life.
Connected Inequality: The Internet is No Longer for Everyone
ETECSA defended its decision by arguing that the new packages allow users to connect to any network (2G, 3G, 4G), a technical improvement that does not offset the economic barrier that is imposed. As one commentator expressed: “What good is it to use any network if I can't afford any?”.
On the digital margins of Cuba, where connectivity is still intermittent or limited to 3G areas, the measure is seen as yet another form of exclusion.
"They are deliberately disconnecting us. Those without MLC are left out of the world." For many, this is no longer a digital divide, but an abyss imposed by decree.
Humor as defense, sarcasm as a trench
As in so many other crises, Cuban humor quickly emerged as a form of critique.
Amidst the anger, phrases filled with irony emerged: “Spiritual recharge: includes 100 blessings and 1 minute of signal”, or “ETECSA launches its new plan: the mobile blackout”.
These jokes, written between lines of fury, also serve as a reflection of the ingenuity or popular mockery in the face of the increasingly hostile environment created by the government of the so-called "continuity" led by Miguel Díaz-Canel.
A discontent that no longer fits within the margins
Although ETECSA claims that it will maintain services in CUP and support prioritized social sectors, the facts point to a gradual and exclusionary dollarization of mobile services.
The decisions are no longer just unpopular: they are seen as disconnected from the reality of the country. One of the most shared messages warned: “This is not a mistake. It’s a policy. And it increasingly pushes us further away from the right to communicate”.
When the crack appears at home
The phenomenon lies not only in the measure but also in the place where the reaction occurred. That this avalanche of criticism is expressed in Cubadebate marks a turning point.
Díaz-Canel's new measure has caused a new rift in the official narrative. It is a sign that controlling the discourse is not enough when decisions so directly affect millions of people.
The comments do not come from organized dissidents or opposing influencers. They are everyday voices, from within. And that —in the Cuban context— is perhaps the most eloquent.
Because when saturation seeps through the cracks of the propaganda apparatus, the system can no longer pretend to be unanimous.
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