Internet in Cuba: not to fuel hatred and subversion, but to help building a fairer society

Cuba’s Minister of Communication, Mayra Arevich Marín, confirmed that the political will of the Cuban government is to bringing Internet to every corner of the country, but to put it some good use aiming to achieve a better educated, skilled population in order to achieve a much better governmental management, building a fairer society, and more sustainable socialism. 

As opposed to Washington’s interventionist attempts, which aim to use Internet in Cuba “to promote a misinformation warfare by spreading messages of violence and inciting civil unrest.”

She highlighted so at the TV-radio program Mesa Redonda, which addressed the illegal usage of cyberspace by the U.S. against the island, the effects of the U.S. blockade in the development of the connectivity to Internet and Informatics, as well as the new Cybersecurity measures approved by Cuba.

Regarding the new regulations, released by the Official Gazette of the Republic, she ratified that “regulating telecommunication means to safeguard peace and the nation’s development, backed by the principles of the International Telecommunication Union. We will keep on working harder to have a fairer, sustainable digital society, which may contribute to the development of our country.”

And the Mesa Redonda TV program ended with such statement, where a broad explanation on the new legal provisions included in the Decree-Law No.35, “of Telecommunication, Communication Technologies, and the Use of Radio Spectrum,” and in the Resolution 105, “National Model Acting for Response to Incidents of Cybersecurity.”

She pointed out that these regulations are endorsed in our Constitution and they were upheld in the legislative program of the nation and its realization will allow to organize the system and usage of the radio spectrum, as sovereign resource of the nation where meddling will not be allowed.

In addition to going deeper into this important regulation, a series of arguments and data on the expansion and use of Internet in Cuba were provided.

In relation to the development achieved, Arevich Marín detailed that telecommunications are paramount in the development plan until 2030 and recalled that the 8th Congress of Cuba’s Communist Party adopted four guidelines that provide guidance for actions to do ahead.

She also made clear that such work is endorsed by a system of cybersecurity and management of the radio spectrum, which must protect national security and defense.

She specified that the “Decree-Law No.35 is the higher-ranked constitutional provision in the telecommunication sector and it was vital to organize our services, technologies, and the management of the radio spectrum.”

In relation to Resolution 105 on the “National Model Acting for Response to Incidents of Cybersecurity,” she said that all countries have similar provisions, as required by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

This resolution protects now natural persons as it typifies proceedings that can affect both individuals and their families, while helping protect our cyberspace and thus enjoy an ethic and beneficial Internet for the people, she stated.

As she began her remarks, the minister of Communication had made clear that, even though the U.S. is determined to use Internet and telecommunication in its campaign against Cuba, and now poses as the “good facilitator” of this service for the island, the access to Internet in Cuba was only the result of the efforts of Cubans, specialists and workers of the sector, despite the major challenges imposed by the U.S. blockade in that regard.

The blockade does limit, she said, the possibility to buy resources for a more modern infrastructure, while raising the price of any purchase good.

However, she highlighted that we continue to work in order to spreading this service strongly convinced about the importance of Internet to the country, its economy and developing even more the informatization of the society.

She also emphasized on the importance of Internet in the fighting against the pandemic and illustrated it with the applications and other facilities that have contributed in this fight.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff