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The Director of Innovation and Development of elToque, an independent Cuban media outlet, was introduced to the students by Professor Fernando J. Ruiz, PhD in Public Communication, full time professor and researcher of Journalism and Democracy and History of Communication at the School of Communication of Universidad Austral (Argentina) and author of several books, among them “Another crack in the wall: report and testimonies of the new Cuban press”. He is academic advisor of CADAL.
During his presentation at Universidad Austral's campus in Pilar, Calás referred to the legal restrictions within the Cuban 2019 Constitution, the 2022 Penal Code and the 2024 Law on Social Communication, which limit practicing journalism in Cuba. In this regard, he pointed out that according to Reporters Without Borders, year after year, Cuba continues to be ranked last in Latin America in terms of press freedom.
Subsequently, he presented the initiatives of elToque to foster democracy in Cuba, regarding Transparency and Accountability, Promoting Citizen Participation, Safeguarding Human Rights and, in particular, the Observatory of Currencies and Finances of Cuba.
Abraham Calás Torres (Cuba), is a Systems Engineer graduated with honors from the Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas (UCI) in Havana, Cuba, and current Director of Innovation and Development at elToque. On this platform he has contributed with projects such as “La Cuba que viene...”, winner of the 2019 Online Journalism Award, and “El drama de la comida en Cuba”, nominated for the Gabo Award 2021. He is passionate about independent, truthful and transformative journalism. That is why he participated in the JournalismAI Academy for Small Newsrooms, an initiative that seeks to integrate artificial intelligence in journalism to optimize processes and improve content. As part of the Observatory of Currencies and Finances of Cuba (OMFi), he researches and analyzes the informal currency market in Cuba in real time. This work reflects his commitment to transparency and truth in economic and financial analysis. His goal is to continue innovating and applying advanced technologies to strengthen independent journalism and provide accurate and accessible information to the community.
