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Cuba’s students call for resignations and strikes after brutal internet price hike

(6 months ago)
Ruaridh Nicoll
CubaAmericasWorldUniversitiesSociety

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Cuban university students are protesting a drastic internet price hike by state-owned Etecsa, calling for strikes and resignations. Their underlying anger is directed at the communist government's increasing reliance on US dollars and a perceived abandonment of socialist principles.

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  1. 1 Etecsa increases mobile data prices without notice
  2. 2 Local FEU chapters call for measures including strikes and resignations
  3. 3 Tania Velázquez explains situation on state television
  4. 4 Matcom expresses skepticism and calls for students to stay away from classes
  5. 5 Miguel Diaz Canel organizes meetings with students and suggests communication error
  6. 6 Government offers a second highly subsidized internet package for university students
  7. 7 Monday (prior to article): Matcom votes to return to classes
  • Widespread student protests and calls for strikes
  • Government offering concessions (subsidized internet package for students)
  • Growing sense that the government is moving away from socialist principles
  • Potential lifelong consequences for students involved in protests
What: Cuban university students are protesting a brutal internet price hike, calling for attendance strikes, explanations from ministers, and even the resignation of their own organization's president.
When: Recently (price hike occurred); Monday (Matcom voted to return to classes); six-decade old (US embargo).
Where: Cuba (Havana, CUJAE, Havana University); Miami, Florida Straits.
Why: Etecsa increased mobile data prices without notice, making internet unaffordable for many. The deeper anger stems from the government's increasing reliance on US dollars for essential goods and services, moving away from socialist principles.
How: Students, through local chapters of the Federation of University Students (FEU) and specific university faculties (e.g., Matcom), organized protests, issued statements, and called for class boycotts. The government responded with meetings and a subsidized internet package for students.

Cuban university students are protesting a drastic internet price hike by state-owned Etecsa, calling for strikes and resignations. Their underlying anger is directed at the communist government's increasing reliance on US dollars and a perceived abandonment of socialist principles.