Mother of Díaz-Canel's press chief protests ETECSA charges: "I can't contribute even a little dollar."

María del Carmen Hernández Carús, mother of Leticia Martínez Hernández, who serves as the Head of Communication for the Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, protested against the recent imposition of drastic limits on access to the Internet in national currency by the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA).

In a post on Facebook, Hernández Carús denounced the measure which, in her opinion, prevents us from doing "what as revolutionaries we are supposed to do to confront the war being waged against us through the networks."

According to their logic, that would be "the essential," which would be restricted by ETECSA's announcement to limit the top-ups in Cuban pesos (CUP) to 360 per month and offer mobile data plans only in U.S. dollars (USD).

"I am not talking about anything else, neither videos, nor gossip, nor any other trivialities, only about what we, as revolutionaries, must do to confront the war waged against us on social media. I say that I cannot afford them. And don't even dream of buying those extra packages," he wrote.

In his message, he argued that ETECSA "needed" foreign currency to "improve its services," but stated that he could not give them "not a little dollar."

"Today I will watch the round table, but it’s most likely that I will say goodbye to all of you. Here I leave you a greeting just in case I don’t see you again," he concluded.

The measure announced this Friday responds, according to the company, to the need to "develop and sustain the telecommunications service network in our country," as anticipated by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz during the parliamentary sessions last December.

While the use of CUP is restricted, ETECSA is promoting new Extra DATA Plans in US dollars, which are now available through international cards and the MiTransfer Wallet.

The post by Hernández Carús received dozens of comments from internet users who reminded her that the order did not come from ETECSA, but from the regime that the woman defends.

One of the forum members admitted that they were concerned that ETECSA, a state-owned socialist company, "impudently violates what is stipulated in the contract with all its customers" and "has just legalized the informal market exchange rate of the USD in Cuba, as 10 USD=3360 CUP."

"We have abruptly dismantled the entire discourse and policies regarding banking access and the informatization of society, not to mention the Cost Sheets and other measures that we have demanded from Cuban entrepreneurs. I see no way that the cost of 3GB of internet could be 3360 CUP," he stated.

He also considered that the communications monopoly could further reduce its administrative infrastructure (office floors in the Miramar Business Center, the most expensive in the country, a fleet of administrative vehicles that is renewed annually, among others).

The recent decision to limit top-ups in Cuban pesos (CUP) to 360 per month and to offer mobile data plans only in United States dollars (USD) has prompted users on social media to express their frustration over what they see as a massive exclusion of millions of citizens who do not have access to foreign currency.

The measure is a further step in the dollarization of the Cuban economy, where essential services, such as access to the Internet, are becoming privileges for those who receive remittances or have access to dollars.

Frequently Asked Questions About ETECSA Rates and Their Impact on Cuba