Internet Iandscape in Cuba and the Arrival of Google in the Island

Abstract

The present article discusses the phenomena of disconnection in Cuba (RECIO, 2013), based on the analysis of the history of communications in the Island, from the 1959 Revolution (ALFONSO, 1993) until early 2019. We list Cuban-developed internet technologies (PRESS, 2011; URRA, 2011), the absortion of external technologies by the society, and the tactics designed by the population to try and overcome their lack of infrastructure, by tackling material limitations imposed by the economic embargo enforced by the U.S. since the early 1960s (BRITO, 2019). We then discuss the evolution of formal and informal telecommunications in Cuba during the period known as the "Actualización del Socialismo Cubano" (Actualization of Cuban Socialism, HABEL, 2009) and the process of re-establishing diplomatic relations with the United States, with a special focus on the role played by Google - considered herein to be not only a corporation but an American geopolitical actor, due to its close ties with the State Department throughout the Obama administration. We end up by establishing a time line of Google's actions towards Cuba and analyzing its actions in the first few years under Donald Trump and Miguel Díaz-Canel.