Cuban Masons Reject President Diaz-Canel’s Invitation to Meet

At his desk is the Grand Master Ernesto Zamora Fernández. (Grand Lodge of Cuba)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 24 August 2021 — “We have decided not to attend the meeting called by the country’s presidency (…), in order to preserve Masonic unity,” stated a letter signed by Grand Master Ernesto Zamora Fernández on Monday and disseminated by various Masons on their social networks. That community had been summoned this Tuesday to a meeting with President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Since July 11, the presidency and its entourage have visited communities and neighborhoods such as San Isidro and La Güinera, where the young Diubis Laurencio Tejeda was shot dead by the police during the protests on July 11. In La Güinera , Díaz-Canel posed in front of the altar in the home of the santera (priestess) Iliana Macías and walked with her through the streets holding her hand.

Díaz-Canel has met in recent weeks with journalists, members of the Council of Churches of Cuba and mass organizations such as the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) and the Young Communist Union (UJC). He also participated, on July 26, in volunteer work with several young people, where troubadours Eduardo Sosa and Ray Fernández were present.

“The letter in question is an example of the unbreakable union between all the Masons in response to IPH José Ramón Viñas Alonso, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree, determining to not call the Masons to meet [with the president]. The Sovereign Grand Commander himself alerted the Masonic community on the subject, stating that the position adopted by the Grand Master is honorable in prioritizing the unity of the fraternity in such turbulent moments for the Homeland,” Mason Leo de la Torriente detailed on Twitter .

In addition, he points out that “the non-attendance of the Masonic institution to said meeting is not an act of rebellion, it is a clear sign of our unity.”

Viñas Alonso also sent a letter to Díaz-Canel after he ordered the revolutionaries to take to the streets on July 11 to confront the protesters.

“Today we see with sadness that something that was seen coming due to the discontent and deficiencies among the population has materialized in demonstrations throughout the country,” stated the letter that also defined as “unacceptable the call for a confrontation between Cubans.” The Masons also stated that they were “on the side of the Cuban people” and advocated “for peace, harmony and social justice.” After the dissemination of the document, Viñas Alonso was summoned for an interrogation at the police station on Zapata and C.

The brief statement from the Masons explains that the decision not to attend this Tuesday’s meeting with the presidency was taken after receiving “opinions and calls from the brothers” and based on “the situation created.”

Cuban actor Reinier Díaz Vega shared the letter on his Facebook profile with the text: “Either all or none.” In one of the comments, the writer Ángel Santiesteban replied: “I take my hat off to your wise decision. The Masonic unit above all else. History is being made.” Both Díaz and Santiesteban are part of the Cuban Masonic community.

Another member, Marcel Villegas Vazquez, said: “Once again our August Institution offers a demonstration that we are an indestructible chain, one where each of its links fights every day for our unity.”

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