The Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC) celebrated its 63rd anniversary on Wednesday with an institutional message published in the state media Cubadebate, in which it claimed to have «a head to think the truth, a mouth to speak it, and a heart to defend it». The response from Cubans on social media was a torrent of mockery, irony, and direct questioning about whether there is anything on the island that can be called journalism.
The text, signed by the National Presidency of the union and written by its president Ricardo Ronquillo Bello, urged the official press to "establish itself at the center of society as a bastion of dialogue, of balance, and of social and popular control." The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz joined in the congratulations on X by specifically citing that phrase.
What the regime presented as a trade celebration became the target of a massive and critical response in the Facebook post by Cubadebate.
"Here there is no journalism. Here you say what you are told to say," wrote one user. Another was more direct: "IN CUBA, JOURNALISM DOES NOT EXIST; journalists like to pursue the news, but in Cuba it is handed to them ready-made and edited. That is not JOURNALISM; that is called a SPOKESPERSON."
Ironies abounded. "Journalists, rather broadcasters," noted a commentator. Another sarcastically asked, "And are there journalists in Cuba? I'm just finding out! There are plenty of spokespersons, though."
One of the more elaborate comments invoked José Martí himself —a figure cited in the UPEC's message— to pose an uncomfortable question: "Could UPEC today freely interview Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro ('El Cangrejo'), as USA Today did, and ask him unrestricted questions about his privileges, the role he plays in state matters, and publish his answers in full? Could a journalist from UPEC do this without political authorization and without facing consequences? If the answer is no, then UPEC's purpose is not to scrutinize power, as Martí requested, but to protect it."
Other users were more brief: "Well, it doesn’t seem that way. Because they parrot what they’re told to say, when and how they’re supposed to say it," wrote one person. Another stated, "That's a meme; the truth is that you don’t tell the truth, the truth of a people that is already dying while you worship a stupid ideology."
The contrast between the official discourse and the verifiable reality is striking. According to Reporters Without Borders, Cuba ranks 160th out of 180 countries in the 2026 Press Freedom Index, making it the second worst country in the Americas, just behind Nicaragua.
The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press documented 1,188 violations of freedom of expression during 2025, an increase of 54.7% compared to the previous year. At least 23 independent media sites remain blocked on the island.
The Social Communication Law effective since June 2024 only legally recognizes media linked to the State, the Communist Party, and mass organizations, leaving independent journalism in a state of illegality.
In that scenario, the UPEC —founded on July 15, 1963, in the Habana Libre hotel and with more than 3,600 members according to its own figures— celebrates six decades proclaiming that it defends the truth. The National Assembly plans to approve in the coming weeks the creation of a Ministry of Information and Social Communication to further centralize state control over the media, which heralds greater restrictions for independent journalism on the island.
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