People walking in front of the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA) building in Havana. Photo: Reuters.
By Isaac Saney – Jun 7, 2025
The recent student manifestations and expressions of discontent in Cuba over increased rates announced by ETECSA (Cuba’s telecommunications company) should be viewed in the wider context of the ongoing and escalating economic war and destabilization campaign by the United States against the island nation. These protestations are not random or isolated incidents but reflect genuine frustrations and grievances stemming from the challenges caused by the long-standing financial, commercial and trade warfare waged against Cuba, considered the most severe and comprehensive set of sanctions ever imposed on a country in modern history. Beginning in 1960 and intensified through subsequent acts such as the Torricelli Act (1992), the Helms-Burton Act (1996), more than 240 vindictive measures by the first Trump regime and further escalated in the second, this economic siege aims not only to strangle the Cuban economy but also to incite internal discontent, undermine the legitimacy of the Cuban government, and ultimately dismantle the Cuban Revolution.
In this environment, every misstep made by the Cuban authorities— errors and mistakes that are common in any country, including so-called highly developed ones—are amplified and exploited. The economic blockade is designed to make governance in Cuba extremely challenging, ensuring that the state operates under conditions of constant scarcity, limited flexibility, and significant vulnerability. Flaws and deficiencies in this setting are not indications of socialism’s failure but rather demonstrate the impact of the U.S. imperial strategy: to provoke frustration among the Cuban populace and create a perception of governmental inadequacy. This perception is then magnified by U.S.-backed media and platforms with the aim of spreading confusion, cynicism, and distrust within Cuban society.
As was noted in many circles, April 6, 2025 marked the 65th anniversary of the explicit articulation of this strategy by Lester D. Mallory, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, in a now-declassified U.S. State Department memorandum dated April 6, 1960: “The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship… every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba… denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation, and the overthrow of government.”
The sinister goal is to coerce the Cuban people into submission by strangling the economy, creating shortages, hardships, and exacerbating social inequalities—the very issues the Cuban Revolution has tirelessly been working to eliminate. This strategy seeks to instigate massive social unrest that would then serve as a pretext for U.S. intervention.
It is crucial, therefore, to place the student discontent within this backdrop of externally induced crisis. The youth in Cuba, much like young people globally, are grappling with deteriorating infrastructure, sporadic access to digital technologies, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and the mental strain of prolonged economic austerity. Their concerns call for thoughtful and considerate responses. Unlike in capitalist societies where protests are often met with apathy, oppression, or political manipulation, the Cuban government historically seeks to listen, engage, and address issues. Indeed, the government has admitted that errors were made in communication, design and implementation of the new telecommunication rates and measures, and there have been several discussions and engagements with students. Emerging from a revolution and anchored in popular rule, the Cuban state has mechanisms for feedback and adaptation that, while not flawless, remain dedicated to the principle of collective involvement, discussion and participation in resolving and implementing solutions to issues and problems.
In response to recent expressions of discontent, Cuban authorities have initiated a series of dialogues and consultations, aiming to tackle specific grievances while upholding national stability and the project of social justice. However, this responsiveness is consistently limited by Washington’s ever deepening economic warfare. Shortages of essentials like food, fuel, medicine, and basic goods are not principally due to economic mismanagement – the constant mantra in the western monopoly media – but are primarily a consequence of a deliberate policy of deprivation imposed from without. The U.S. economic blockade prevents Cuba from accessing international credit markets, obstructs technological advancements, and disrupts crucial supply chains. It criminalizes Cuba’s attempts to engage in trade with other nations and penalizes any entity that dares to conduct business with the island.
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One of the pressing challenges confronting Cuba is the enhancement of its communication infrastructure and technological capabilities. The Cuban government has continually expressed its aspiration and ambition to ensure broad and equitable technology access for all its citizens. Expanding digital connectivity is not only an economic necessity but a democratic one, crucial for social inclusivity, educational progress, and youth involvement. Nevertheless, this aspiration is hindered by the blockade. U.S. sanctions restrict Cuba’s access to technology, software, hardware, cloud services, and online platforms. They impede infrastructure investments and postpone the expansion of high-speed internet and telecommunications services.
This technological lag can contribute to feelings of alienation, particularly among younger Cubans witnessing their peers across the globe immersed in digitally connected societies. Yet it bears underscoring that despite the economic siege more than 80 percent of communities in Cuba now have cellular coverage, with an average monthly data usage of 10 gigabytes. However, the infrastructure requires significant upgrade as, for example, only 50 percent of the country’s territory and 50 percent of the population is covered by and has access to 4G. The government is, therefore, faced with the task of ensuring that the country continues to have a telecommunications system.
Cuba does not exist in isolation. It is a Southern Global nation facing relentless aggression from the most dominant empire in human history. Every action taken by Cuba is scrutinized, distorted, and politicized. Yet, it remains one of the few countries upholding a vision of socialist transformation grounded in internationalism, public ownership, popular participation and human dignity. The resilience, ingenuity, and critical thinking capabilities of the Cuban people—evident in protests and expressions of discontent, themselves—serve as a testament not to the failure of the revolution but to its enduring vitality.
Moving forward, Cuba endeavours to continue to march along the path of humility, openness, and adaptability as it addresses the concerns of students and youth who, like previous generations, aspire to enhance their society. Supporting Cuba today requires understanding it in its full complexity. It means emphasizing that socialism, like all human endeavors, must evolve and develope. However, this evolution and development should occur without external forces waging economic warfare at every turn. This necessitates renewed global solidarity to remove the burden of U.S. imperialism from Cuba, enabling the Cuban people to exercise their right to shape their desired society without the constraints of siege, sabotage, and subversion.
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