The Cuban architect Abel Tablada challenged the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP) to provide answers regarding the fate of the multibillion-dollar revenues generated over the last decade by the state-owned and sole Telecommunications Company of Cuba (ETECSA), following the rise in rates that has sparked a wave of public discontent.
Tablada acknowledged that the company needs foreign currency to maintain its infrastructure, but was firm in stating that it belongs to the Business Administration Group S.A. (GAESA), a conglomerate of non-auditable companies in the military sector that together represent between 40 and 70% of the economy or foreign currency income to the country.
The company has been financially drained and “according to its own president, does not decide the destination of its revenues, as part of these funds goes to other sectors,” Tablada emphasized in the text “The Destination of ETECSA's Revenues: Reflection and Three Uncomfortable Questions for the National Assembly of Cuba,” published on his Facebook profile.
The analysis also addressed the devaluation of the national currency following the failed Tarea Ordenamiento initiated by the government, which led to current rates losing real value against inflation. This situation resulted in "internet service becoming relatively cheaper," prompting Cuban citizens to prefer purchasing packages in Cuban pesos rather than having their relatives buy them abroad, Tablada stated.
The gradual increase in national poverty due to external and internal causes is what truly deserves a national protest, because it is the reason why any Cuban citizen cannot, with their salary or pension, cover the necessary expenses to, first, have a minimally dignified life (…) and, even less so, to maintain a quality infrastructure for telephone and internet services with their taxes," he emphasized.
He also recalled that, on one hand, the government has been eliminating subsidized basic food products or general supplies in CUP, and on the other, prices have risen in the foreign currency-receiving stores and in the non-state market.
"As we know, that poverty as a country also does not allow for the maintenance of any other infrastructure, no matter how vital it may be: energy, food, transportation, housing, health, education, or roads. The country is in a multisystemic crisis, depleted of resources, and deeply in debt," he emphasized.
He remembered that the telecommunications monopoly was one of the companies that generated the most foreign currency, thanks to recharging packages from abroad or the purchase of cards in CUC, which was equivalent to USD before the "Ordering."
“Over the years, he amassed hundreds or billions through that means, a figure we do not know due to the lack of transparency in the governance model in Cuba and the little respect, no matter how much they want to disguise it, towards the citizens by the centralized power,” he stated.
In a critical and straightforward tone, he posed three questions to Parliament:
- What were the foreign currencies accumulated by ETECSA invested in over the last 10 years?
- Was the fate of those funds and their impact on the sustainability of the company discussed in the ANPP? How is it possible that the largest conglomerate of companies in the country is not subject to auditing?
- When and how will Parliament demand that the Council of Ministers, the Council of State, and the Communist Party of Cuba take responsibility for leading the nation, countering decades of economic war by mapping out intelligent strategies so that, with our own natural and human resources, our land can produce, our professionals can innovate, our entrepreneurs and their businesses can thrive, and citizens will not want to emigrate in droves?
The architect agreed that this price hike, "in the style of the neoliberal packages from any Latin American country," has provoked more reaction than the gradual loss of wages, the supply rationing book, or the repressive abuses of the regime against citizens exercising their right to protest.
He warned that the issue goes beyond the sudden increase and poorly communicated rate package from ETECSA: “The main problem is the lack of a democratic model with real citizen participation, the absence of a socio-economic system that encourages work, and the lack of leadership with a strategic vision capable of dealing with the enormous impact of the blockade and facilitating dialogue among internal forces so that the entire nation and its citizens can move forward.”
Announced on May 30, the new measures imposed by the telecommunications monopoly ETECSA limit internet access for the majority of Cubans and require that once the meager allowed data package for browsing is exhausted, recharges rely on payments for plans at high prices in CUP and foreign currency.
The decision was swiftly rejected by the vast majority of the population who survive on Cuban pesos and see how the so-called “partial dollarization of the economy” advances into areas of public services and the sale of essential goods.
According to the official press, student organizations such as the FEU and the Hermanos Saíz Association, which gathers young artists and intellectuals, have publicly expressed their opposition to the price hike.
Most of the Cuban population has reacted with outrage to the justifications put forth by ETECSA regarding million-dollar losses due to alleged "frauds" over the past four years. In this regard, they criticized the state management and accused the company of incompetence and manipulation to impose abusive rates.
The economist Pedro Monreal described the situation as “a case of monumental incompetence,” both on the part of the state-owned company and the Cuban government itself, acknowledging that the alleged fraud operated for over three years without any effective measures being taken to stop it.
The Cuban regime knew that the sudden increase in ETECSA's tariffs would provoke public discontent and, anticipating a scenario of social unrest, activated repressive mechanisms and deterrent measures both before and after the official announcement.
The new rate hike not only directly impacts household finances, but also further restricts access to information, communication with the outside world, and activity on social networks, at a time when popular discontent is increasingly being channeled through these means.
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