The new prices violate educational rights and deepen social inequalities.
14ymedio, Holguin, June 7, 2025 — Law Students at the University of Holguín filed a formal lawsuit against the Cuban Telecommunications Company S.A. (Etecsa), in a gesture unprecedented in the recent history of the country. The students questioned the recent mobile and data services rate increases — commonly referred to as the ’tarifazo’ — supporting their claim in the Constitution, the Penal Code and various national regulations. The signatories consider this measure -defended and maintained yesterday afternoon by President Miguel Díaz-Canel – as “exclusivist, classist and contrary to law.”
The demand was made public by the students themselves through their social networks. One of them, René Javier, wrote on Facebook: “Every jurist, whether trained or in training, has a duty to fight against three giants: fear, injustice and ignorance.”
On the basis of articles 384 and 385 of the current Penal Code, the plaintiffs reject any “institution or public official who objects to the exercise of the right of free, direct and unsupervised consultation,” as well as “those who exercise coercion, detention, harassment, separation or institutional sanction against any student, teacher or worker.”
According to the students, the state-owned Etecsa violated its own contractual terms – specifically points 7 and 19 – by imposing price changes without prior notice, in breach of the clause requiring notification of any change at least 30 days in advance. The president of the company, Tania Velázquez, justified this decision by claiming that it sought to avoid “anxiety” in customers and “actions” by the population.
In the document – written in legal language and supported by constitutional arguments – the signatories warn that the new price increase not only violates educational and communication rights, but also deepens social inequalities. The limitation of service to only 6 GB and sectoral solutions represent “a social segmentation of Cuban society,” they said.
The students also challenged any attempt to delegitimize their thinking, falsely accusing them of acting under “manipulation, interference or external intervention.” The president himself, Diaz-Canel, in his podcast From the Presidency, denied that there was any conflict with the student body and stated that the news about protests and academic stoppage were a fabrication of “a totally despicable matrix.”
Although they do not have the backing of the ruling Federation of University Students (FEU), which parrots the interests of the Communist Party of Cuba, the students also condemn the partial dollarization of internet access through establishing re-charges from abroad. They consider that this system excludes those sectors of the population that do not receive remittances and reinforces the social gap between those who have access to foreign currency and those who depend exclusively on wages in Cuban pesos.
“This is not only an economic issue,” said René Javier, the young man from Holguín, but a flagrant violation of the right to information, fairness and personal development.”
The students also propose a meeting for dialogue with Etecsa between June 6 and 13, to find a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis that is affecting a large part of the population. However, they make it clear that they reject any attempt at political instrumentalization or co-optation by official structures. Neither the FEU nor the management of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Holguín showed their support, so the signatories reject any gesture of support after the publication of the document.
“We request a firm response from the defendant,” they conclude, “to declare our claim admissible with all its pronouncements in the required period.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.