The decision was communicated to her personally during a meeting at the Provincial Committee of the organization in Matanzas.
14ymedio, Havana, 13 September 2024 — The Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) expelled historian Alina Bárbara López on Thursday, a sanction – insignificant, in her opinion – in which the intellectual sees the hand of State Security. The reasons: criticizing the “high leadership of the Revolution,” “showing solidarity with the July 11 [11J] movement” and violating the organization’s statutes.
According to López, the decision was communicated to her personally during a meeting at the Provincial Committee of UNEAC in Matanzas. From the mouths of the authorities present – one from each branch of the organization, in addition to the president – López was informed that, according to article 40 of the regulations, the entity had sufficient arguments for her “separation.” Among them, having offended Julio César Pérez, a Communist Party official who is also vice president of the Writers Association.
In a State Security profile – enabled for “cybercombat,” López emphasizes – Pérez claimed that the historian “had lost her shame and was violating the peace in the city.” Her response to this accusation, she maintains, was not an insult but a reply with “ethical stature.” “The leadership does not consider that I was the one who was offended,” she laments.
No document was given to support the decision, a mere “verbal communication” from the leaders
Although the organization told López that its decision was final, the intellectual said that she did not intend to question a measure that, she believes, “seems to be dictated more by State Security agents than by writers and artists.” However, she emphasizes that the decision did not adhere to the law and its arguments are not solid.
In the first place, she says, she was not given any document supporting the decision, but rather a mere “verbal communication” from the leaders. They also refused to share the content of the text to her and only after much insistence did they read the document to her again. “The intention of the president of the UNEAC was that I listen and, after finishing the reading, they concluded the meeting because they ‘did not want to debate’. They obviously know very little about me. I did not accept and imposed an exchange that they did not want where they had to listen to my point of view,” she says.
During her response, she clarified that on 11J there was a social outburst “that was not structured,” so there could be no talk of support or leadership on her part. She admitted that she has analyzed the causes of the protests in several articles and has called for the release of the prisoners. “It seems unfair to me that people who only protested by shouting slogans or recording videos of what happened are serving long prison sentences. I never justified the acts of vandalism, but this was not the general tone of what happened on 11J,” she argued.
During her response, she clarified that on 11J there was a social outburst “that was not structured”
Regarding the accusations of acts “against the Revolution” – “understood as the Government” – López asked for clarification, since she is not part of any opposition party or organization. “I have never appealed to violence and I am in favor of national dialogue, I have never called on anyone to follow me. I exercise constitutional rights established in article 56 of the Law of Laws: freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration,” she explains.
The leaders of the UNEAC were unable to refute her arguments, she says, and, hesitantly, stuck to the content of the text. They appealed to the organization’s regulations, but López reminded them that these statutes were not above the Constitution of the Republic, and that therefore they were committing an illegality.
She continued that she joined UNEAC as an essayist on historical and social issues, so technically it is her duty to assess “the manner and results of governmental and political management,” an intellectual activity that the authorities should not penalize.
Regarding her alleged violations of the Penal Code – another of the accusations – López said that “neither State Security nor the investigators and judges had ever claimed that the legal farce that led to my conviction for disobedience was a ‘serious crime’, in fact I received a fine as a sanction and I have no criminal record.” Nor has the charge for the “crime of attack” been brought, which is in the investigation phase.
López dedicated a final reflection to the Uneac, an entity “worse than the entire national repressive apparatus” for making decisions without even arguing them
López dedicated a final reflection to UNEAC, an entity “worse than the entire national repressive apparatus” for making decisions without even justifying them from a legal point of view. “What sense does it make for an intellectual organization that has to obey the unalterable statutes of a political organization – the Communist Party – to which not all of its members belong?” she said
Personally and as a member of the organization, López had several disagreements during meetings in which she tried to be critical. “Several months ago,” she says, “when I tried to address this issue at the Assembly of the Literature Association, they almost didn’t let me do so on the grounds that UNEAC is not the place to address political issues… When I left, I told them that I felt ashamed for them. The others lowered their heads and did not respond. Only the president of UNEAC said that he felt no shame at all. ‘You must have lost it,’ were my last words.”
UNEAC, founded in 1961 after a time of high political tension – the censorship of the documentary PM and the so-called Words to the Intellectuals, Fidel Castro’s commandments for culture – has used the expulsion and sanctions of its members as a political tool since its origins. One of the most notorious cases, in 1967, was that of Guillermo Cabrera Infante. More recently, UNEAC has removed from its ranks dissident writers such as Rafael Vilches and Pedro Armando Junco.
Chaired today by Villa Clara official Luis Morlote, the organization has strengthened its ideological control and has affirmed, through statements and declarations, its non-negotiable loyalty to the regime.
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
