Category: Translator: Zach Young

Last April, Fernández was cited by the police in Santiago de Cuba. On her Youtube channel, the former medical student deals with political and social themes, always with a critical eye towards the Cuban government.

In a press conference in February, European Commission spokeswoman Virginie Battu-Henriksson decried the Cuban government’s increasing use of travel bans for its citizens, saying that free movement is a fundamental right. She claimed to have raised the issue with Cuban authorities in October.

As of September 2019, there were 150 Cubans known to have been officially barred from travel. In the last two years, the arbitrary restriction of movement for activists, journalists, and opposition figures has become a common tactic of repression in Cuba.

The right to free movement is established by Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as by Article 52 of the Cuban Constitution. While as in all countries this right is subject to regulations, the government in Havana applies them arbitrarily. This limits the options available to affected individuals; some have attempted to address their situation through the judicial system, while others have had to resort to activism.

An immigration reform that went into effect in January 2013 significantly loosened previously existing restrictions on travel outside of Cuba, eliminating the old “exit permit” system, but since then the list of Cuban opposition figures barred from leaving the country has continued to grow. At first, State Security prevented dissidents from traveling through arbitary arrests.

Since 2018, however, it has become more common to inform them of their restricted status when they arrive at the immigration desk or request a new passport.

 Translated by Zach Young

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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.

Originally from the province of Las Tunas, Bruzón has lived for the last two years in the U.S., where he’s part of the chess team at Webster University in St. Louis, today’s chess mecca. Although he originally intended to continue playing under the Cuban flag, the inept handling of his move by the Cuban Chess Federation (FCA) eventually brought relations to a breaking point. Bruzón’s switch the U.S. Federation took effect on July 1st.

The FCA’s policy towards its players has amassed other victims as well. In the last three years they have sanctioned or “separated” some of their best known players from the National Team, players like the grandmasters (GM) Yuniesky Guesada and Yusnel Bacallao, the former for accepting work as a trainer in the U.S. after asking for permission and being denied, and the latter for protesting a two-year delay in payment of his prize money from the Capablanca Memorial Tournament.

The most recent case is that of GM Roberto García, who won 2nd place in the 2019 Cuban championships. The FCA normally provides a monthly stipend to all Cuban grandmasters, but has been denying this payment to García on the basis of his “repeated insubordination” and critical social media posts. What’s more, the Federation has interfered with García’s travel permits and insists that criticism of their actions will not be tolerated. All this is detailed in a letter written by Carlos Rivero, president of the FCA and National Sports Commissioner.

The absence of Cubans in the now-not-so-selective 2600 club is just the tip of the iceberg in the deterioration of the island’s chess scene. This started to become evident after the 2018 Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia. Yuniesky had already fallen into disgrace while Bruzón’s problems were just beginning; then came the complaints about the organization and the conditions offered to the participants in the National Championships in 2019 and 2020.

Claims of delays in payment of prize money from the Capablanca Tournaments to Cuban players, while foreign players received theirs right away. Complaints by top players over the lack of high speed internet access, which is indispensable for any professional chess player these days. Calls for greater support for participation in high-level European tournaments, without which Cuban players have no opportunity to test themselves against the world elite.

The common factor in all these cases seems to be Rivero, who has been in charge of Cuban chess for nine years now. Rivero has faced criticism for failing to live up to the responsibilities of his office, and what’s worse, for not defending the real interests of Cuban chess.

Faced with these charges, the president has pointed to the large number of players who have achieved the grandmaster title during his tenure, the training programs he has implemented, and the number of young players who are currently dominating the national scene. But he ignores the generation of players whom Cuba has lost under his leadership, who have left the country or abandoned professional chess in search of better-paying work.

Meanwhile, at a more basic level, the problems just keep adding up. In schools, there is a lack of chess sets, boards, and even tournament clocks. There have been accusations of “phantom tournaments” that result in the sale of Elo points and international titles. And then there is the arbitrary retaliation against any hint of criticism.

The fact that for the first time since 2002 the leader in the national rankings sits below 2600 Elo is a reflection of the malaise that has overtaken Cuban chess. Carlos Daniel Albornoz, who is only 19 years old, has already reached 2573 Elo. Rivero is right in hoping for a brilliant future for the grandmaster from Camagüey. But while the Federation continues on its current course and U.S. universities continue strengthening their chess scholarship programs, it would be naïve to think that skill is the only realm in which Albornoz with emulate his predecessors.

 Translated by: Zach Young

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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.