Tension Grows in Cuban Universities: Disobedience Spreads
HAVANA TIMES – On Thursday, June 5, 2025, the student strike proposed by students from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Havana continued. We were able to confirm this through an official statement shared on social media by the University Student Federation (FEU) of the Faculty of Chemistry. The statement, which also appears to have been endorsed by the Union of Young Communists (UJC), specifies that the Matcom students “have decided to be absent until they receive answers.”
For the moment, the full scope of the strike remains unclear. However, we found several testimonies on social media stating that the faculty was empty on Wednesday, June 4. We also found other testimonies from alleged students who confirmed they did not attend classes that day.
On June 5, additional letters circulated on social media, attributed to university students protesting against the recent Etecsa rate hike. Not all of the letters supported the strike, but they did reject the rate package and demanded explanations from government officials.
One school that did announce another “arms-down strike” was the Faculty of Communication and Letters at the University of Holguín. “We categorically reject any attempt to delegitimize our critical thinking and demands through false accusations of external manipulation,” they added.
In the letter from Holguín students, it was stated that the Faculties of Psychology, History, CUJAE, and the Central University of Las Villas were also on strike, though we could not independently verify this.
So far, the only group of faculty members to publicly support the students’ demands is the Department of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Havana. On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 4, they published their position in a Facebook post: “We call for dialogue, participation, consensus, and coherence. Additionally, we request the suspension of the measure implemented by Etecsa.” They also called for a public statement from the highest levels of the country’s leadership.
The official narrative has focused on claiming that no such strike exists and that the calls to action are orchestrated from abroad. In what seems to be a response to these claims, a group of young people who allegedly participated in a dialogue with Etecsa demanded that the information not be manipulated. The youth created an alternative WhatsApp channel called FEU Por Cuba. “Share our channel so that the voice of those who speak the truth reaches everyone—your friend who is tired of official media (…) not representing our ideals, of truths being omitted and excuses being given instead of solutions.”
First published in Spanish by El Toque and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
The Castro dictatorship is blowing it. Historically, successful revolutions around the world generally began with the middle-class reaching their breaking point. Poor people are usually too busy trying to find something to eat. It’s the middle-class in Cuba that has the luxury of getting upset about being able to go online to check emails. If the Castros push the middle-class class over the edge, it could be a problem for them this summer. Isn’t it bad enough there’s no food or electricity? Now the risks of losing internet access on top of that?
Impossible that university students could protest against Cubans being bled dry by the monopoly telecommunications co. without being instigated to do so from abroad. That’s the government’s response! Believe it if you want.