Cuba-style Cyber Chatter - Notes from a Long, Hot Summer

Cyberspace was recently treated to a heated debate (if you can call it that way) between dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez and President Raul Castro’’s daughter, Mariela Castro Espin. Mariela has just recently joined Twitter to defend herself from unflattering comments quoted to her about her trip to Amsterdam’s infamous red light district.

Mariela, who is the Director of Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education and is a well-known activist of women rights, was apparently quoted as saying that she was “impressed” with the way Amsterdam manages its sex industry. Apparently, she had a change of heart and she thought of using Twitter to clarify her statement (she shouldn’t have as she wasn’t pitching for the legalization of prostitution in Cuba). She definitely did not expect what awaited her in cyberspace.

Cuban dissidents, who have been some of Cuba’s most prolific Twitter users, and Cuban-Americans in Miami were waiting for her in an ambush. Tweets of varying wit and acerbity immediately overwhelmed her Twitter account, including this one from Sanchez: “Welcome to the plurality of Twitter. Here no one can shut me up, or deny me permission to travel or block my entry.” Mariela recoiled at the number of response she received and was reduced to this lame response: “”Despicable parasites: Did you receive the order from your employers to respond in unison and with the same predetermined script? Be creative.”

Mariela obviously did not expect to receive this much attention, but she should have, considering that she is one of her father’s most staunch defenders. That makes her a huge target for those who are looking to embarrass the regime. She should know better than allowing herself to lose her temper publicly. Mariela was able to experience the plurality of ideas and freedom of expression in the internet which she cannot physically find in Cuba (except for issues related to Cuban baseball which are fiercely debated in a space called Esquina Caliente in Habana Vieja). Now she understands why her father is bent on keeping internet usage inside Cuba as low as possible. Imagine the bedlam and confusion it would generate if the voices of the repressed are allowed to break out.

Getting back to internet usage in Cuba, I am amazed to find a lot of Twitter users and bloggers inside a country where only 3% of the population has access to internet (or more accurately, given access to internet). The country’s internet infrastructure is generally known as plodding and expensive, and the system which it calls internet for the locals, is technically an intranet of approved websites. They even have their own Wikipedia now (called EcuRed) to ensure that their point of view is what the locals read. Recently, there was a talk about a fiber optic cable connection between Venezuela and Cuba laid out by the French company Alcatel Lucent and paid for by Hugo Chavez which would finally bring real, authentic Digital Service Line (DSL) connection to Cuba. However, based on leaked reports, it’s not supposed to be working yet, having been reportedly cracked open after being bitten underwater by sharks. Now, that’s one of the most creative excuses I have ever heard (blame the sharks!). Heads were supposed to have rolled because of this issue, including senior Communications officials (I hope none of the sharks suffered the same fate).

Despite this bad news, one can definitely perceive a noticeable rise in Twitter, Facebook and, in general, internet users in Cuba. Where the fuck did these people get access to DSL internet from when it costs USD 16 to pay for internet access for an hour in a country where the average monthly salary is USD 20? There can only be one reason and that is: the Cuban government is purposely disseminating false reports about the functionality of the fiber optic cable. They do not want to have it known that the line now exists so that 1.) they can keep it to themselves, and 2.) so that most of the population would not have high hopes of finally being allowed to access it. News reports from wire services have confirmed that the fiber optic line has been laid out since July 2011, only to be followed by unsubstantiated rumors about shark-bitten undersea cables. If the latter came from the rumor mill, it has to be taken with a grain of salt, which could mean only one thing: the line works after all.

Recently, the rumor mill also has it that the cable connection to Venezuela does exist. This means that this could only mean that the Cuban government prefers to ration DSL access to those it can trust (read: regime enforcers and supporters who are expected to tout the regime’s views). The sudden explosion of lackeys who are pushing the regime’s point of view in cyberspace could be a proof of that. If you need more evidence, just look at the comments section of the Miami Herald or type #Cuba in Twitter in order to see them at work. You got to give it to them. They are really some of the most hard-line supporters one can ever find in cyberspace. They stick to their talking points much like Republicans, although that’s not a fitting comparison that both sides would approve of.

It would not be long though before the Cuban black market, like in all other aspects of Cuban society, will be able to hack into the system and sell access to those who can afford it. When that happens, the regime will be hard-pressed in trying to prevent the genie from coming out of the bottle. The obvious equalizer is the thirst for money and, sooner than later, a Communications worker looking for a quick buck will find ways to make money out of it. As in everything else in Cuba, DSL access could soon be available to those who can pay, let’s hope.