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Social media was flooded this Saturday with reactions after the Cuban Vice Prime Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda lashed out at the independent platform El Toque, accusing it of "manipulating" the economy and "serving the interests of the United States Government."
In his X account (formerly Twitter), Morales Ojeda wrote: “The subversive and manipulative role of digital platforms like El Toque, funded and operating on behalf of the Government of the United States, makes their purpose clear: to intensify the economic war against Cuba and to severely depress the income of our people.”
However, the publication generated a wave of responses from users inside and outside the island, many of whom accused the government of trying to blame others for the national economic collapse.
“El gobierno doesn’t need help to depress the people's income; you do it well all by yourselves,” wrote @ogarciazaldivar, in a message that garnered dozens of reactions.
"It's laughable to think that a digital platform holds more weight in Cuba's finances than the all-powerful State and the Central Bank of Cuba," quipped another internet user.
Other users also mocked the official speech, pointing out that the attacks against El Toque only highlight the government's inability to take responsibility for the economic crisis that the country is experiencing.
"Pure lies, the only ones to blame for the crisis in the country are you. Stop blaming others. You are mediocre in everything you do," wrote another user on the network.
Meanwhile, government defenders repeated the hashtags #NoAlToque and #UnidosXCuba, arguing that the platform “is an imperial tool” that “takes advantage of the impacts of the blockade to create dissatisfaction.”
Morales Ojeda's statements add to the state campaign against El Toque promoted by Miguel Díaz-Canel himself, who accused the independent media this week of receiving external funding to "devalue the Cuban currency" and "attack the national economy."
The leader stated on his X account that "the economic war against Cuba is designed to depress the income of the Cuban people to the maximum" and that the digital platform is part of that strategy.
The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) supported those accusations, describing the Representative Rate of the Informal Market (TRMi), published by El Toque, as a “distorted signal” that impacts prices and decisions of the population.
However, the BCC itself does not offer a transparent official exchange rate nor a functional market that regulates the buying and selling of currencies in the country.
On their part, activists and citizens have defended the work of El Toque, stating that the portal does not set the value of the currency, but rather reports information based on data collected from the informal market.
“El Toque does not create the currency crisis; it merely reflects it. The fault does not lie with them; it lies with a government that collects in dollars and pays in pesos that are worthless,” commented a user identified as @luqasman.
The activist Amelia Calzadilla also noted that the rise of the dollar is not due to external algorithms, but rather to the policies of the government itself: “They sell food and appliances in foreign currency while paying miserable wages in pesos. That is what depresses the income of the people.”
For many Cubans, the offensive against El Toque is merely an attempt to divert attention from the unchecked inflation, blackouts, and food shortages that have plagued the island for months.
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