Havana Cuba. – The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, Francisco Javier Alfonso Vidal, announced his resignation and exile in the United States ―due to pressure from the Cuban political police― this January 3. In addition to shocking the more than 25,000 Cuban Freemasons inside and outside the Island, it is one of the most transcendental events in the history of the Order in recent decades, and evidences the tensions with the regime, as well as the questioning process that is taking place between the Freemasons and the Cuban dictatorship.
CubaNet spoke exclusively with Alfonso Vidal to inquire about the reasons that led him to make this decision, as well as regarding the plans of State Security and its agents or collaborators infiltrated among the Freemasons on the Island.
―In your resignation letter, you explain that your decision was due to constant harassment by Cuban State Security. Tell me about one of these meetings, the one that struck you the most, with Poll, the agent who constantly quoted and questioned you.
“Without a doubt it was the last meeting: it lasted about two hours, they talked about everything, even [el agente Poll] seemed to take responsibility for the activities that Viñas was doing [José Ramón Viñas Alonso, Soberano Gran Comendador del Supremo Consejo del Grado 33 para la República de Cuba]. According to Poll, if I had solved the problem six months ago, that is, expel the Sovereign, we would have avoided the problems that exist today. Viñas is related to the UPF [Federación Universal para la Paz, en español], which they call the Moon Sect. Poll questioned me having publicly received the Sovereign at the event for the founding of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, held on December 5, for receiving recognition from the UPF and not stopping the speech of the Grand Speaker, Luis Steve Ocaña (who called to the freemasons to do politics). He told me that she was receiving money for relatives [de los presos políticos] of 11J and that things were being kept in the Supreme Court. He tried to blackmail me saying that legally they could close the Institution and, finally, he told me that they were not going to let me travel to Mexico.
In short, he tried to intimidate me by putting the Institution in the middle; he also urged me to suspend the Great Speaker to give an authority coup regarding the political position, since there are masons displeased about it.
―You also mention the complicity of some officials of the Grand Lodge of Cuba with State Security. What have been these complicities, not only with the objective of expelling the Sovereign, but throughout his work in the Grand Lodge?
―The setbacks we are having in the development of our work are elementary. The inoperability of the Grand Secretary [Carlos Alberto Pirez Benítez]the conspiracy, behind my back, of the Executive, together with the past Grand Master, Esnesto Zamora [Gran Maestro entre 2018 y 2022] and other brothers generate a conspiracy against me that is reaffirmed with the desperate Special Circular No. 012, which violates all legal precepts.
Where does the Grand Secretary get the idea that I left the country when I have a visa to be in Mexico for 180 days, in addition to the fact that the Grand Lodge is on recess until January 15? I could have been enjoying my vacation, however, he assumes that I left the delegation. But, if we observe his comments after my statement, he uses the same arguments as the Government of Cuba, circulated in Masonic media to clean up his image and to divert attention. He always looks for a justification and, according to him, I am looking for arguments for credible fear. His comments are really offensive.
―Carlos Pirez is serving his second term as Grand Secretary. In the previous term, you were Grand Treasurer. What has been the job of this person? What is your relationship with State Security and the Office of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC)?
―The relations of the Grand Secretary with the Office of Attention to Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the PCC are insurmountable; in fact, before coming to Mexico, I had a discussion with some of his officials because they did not communicate with me, that I am the Grand Master, to deal with matters related to the Grand Lodge; everything was through Pirez. This is surprising since Pirez appears in the networks as a genuine opponent of the Government. His work in the Grand Secretariat leaves much to be desired, he is very erratic and sometimes detached. Pirez is an intelligent man, he has run companies in Cuba, which does not justify his erratic behavior.
―You also mention the past Grand Master, Ernesto Zamora. In what other ways did Zamora collaborate with State Security or serve its interests during his tenure?
―Zamora is weak in character; His eagerness to appear as someone recognized makes him vulnerable to State Security. I caught him crying the day he had to leave office and today he still doesn’t adjust to the idea that he is no longer the Grand Master. All this is used by Security. They apparently study your profile. With great insistence they said that I was a noble and humble people and that’s why they approached me; In addition, the officials of the Office of Religious Affairs speak very vehemently about him, in fact, they were confident that I was going to follow the same line as Zamora.
―Besides the comments, what leads you to assume that the current Grand Treasurer, Ernesto Javier Navarrete Batista, is a policeman or works directly for the Ministry of the Interior?
―Ernesto started working with me when Lázaro Cuesta was the Grand Master (2015-2018) and throughout the Zamora period. I take him in my candidacy because he needed a strong man in that position and he had been working with me for some time. They criticized me for that because of the strong comment that exists about him who works for Security.
Already in the position of Grand Treasurer, he will develop an unusual interest in the car of the Grand Lodge. Security at one point calls me to tell me that the car was related to an illegal exit; On the other hand, on the eve of my trip to Mexico, half jokingly and half seriously, he suggested that we, that is, my wife and I, were going to stay in Mexico. This, of course, took me by surprise. Not even at that moment had this possibility crossed my mind. On another occasion he rushes to get me to sign some pending papers, and he uses the phrase “just in case” and it doesn’t make sense if I was going to be out of Cuba for a short time.
In Cuba nothing happens by chance. This gives the measure that it was well-intentioned to rush my departure from the country, it doesn’t make sense for Security to tell me that they weren’t going to let me travel to Mexico.
―Why do you think that the current Deputy Grand Master, Fernando González, is a person related to the interests of State Security?
―Fernando was very fixated on the topic of the Plenary session of the Academy [Academia Cubana de Altos Estudios Masónicos], where the law was allegedly violated when dealing with political issues. Furthermore, he always tried to prevent me from authorizing the Sovereign to freely visit the lodges; in fact, he is part of the conspiracy that was brewing on the eleventh floor of the Grand Lodge [donde radican las oficinas de los altos funcionarios de la Institución] when I was in Europe. Some believe that it is manipulable; I don’t think so, he’s pretty smart.
What other plans do State Security or these senior officials have or could have?
―The objective is to change the image of Freemasonry with respect to the Government. The Grand Lodge of Cuba, to be well, has to publicly show that it supports the Government; As long as that does not happen, it is doomed to failure in any type of management. On the other hand, prevent Viñas from reaching the highest management of the Grand Lodge in the future.
―What is your opinion about the Sovereign Grand Commander, José Ramón Viñas Alonso? Why so much interest in expelling him from Freemasonry? Why so much interest of the political police in Cuban Freemasonry in general?
―This is given by the convening capacity that the Institution has both inside and outside the country; and although we Masons are not aware of it, the Government does know it and tries by all means to prevent this from happening.
On the other hand, at this time, Viñas has the majority support of the Cuban Freemasons; he also enjoys international support, this puts him in the position of a potential leader. Viñas told me in Mexico that he was saving Freemasonry, and it could be that he was, in part, but he was really saving the country. While it is true that a large group of opponents has emerged since 9/11, we lack leadership. The conditions have been created to achieve that leadership that could give the long-awaited desire of all Cubans, and Viñas has to be aware that he stopped being Freemasonry to be of the country, he has no other choice.
―Freemasonry in Cuba is experiencing one of its greatest crises. The future of the Order depends on the outcome of the current situation. Not only are there pressures from the political police, but the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Supreme Council and the Grand Lodge is in danger. The prestige of the Order as a defender of freedoms is also at stake. What do you recommend to Masons in the current circumstances?
―No, I think that Cuban Freemasonry is going to come out stronger, because now it knows the truth. The obstacle was me; Security used leadership competition as a device to divide us, and it could have had its effect: I was bombarded with anti-Supreme Council sentiments; I guess the same Sovereign, anti Grand Lodge.
I retire and only one leader remains, Viñas, and Freemasonry has no choice but to use him to their advantage. In Cuba it is difficult, there are many brothers who prefer to have an Institution outside of political issues; there are others who respond to the interests of the Government or have interests of their own that they do not want to lose, but it is difficult to look aside.
I know that the next Grand Master will have his hands tied due to our laws, but Cuban Freemasonry is parliamentary and the Grand Master does what the Chamber [Alta Cámara de la Gran Logia, cuerpo Legislativo de la masonería en Cuba] indicates. It should not be the Grand Master who decides, the mandate of the Freemasons is required.
I recommend betting on leadership unity; Cuban Freemasonry must choose José Ramón Viñas Alonso as its Grand Master. I think it’s time to go directly to pose positions, we can’t follow the branches, we must go to the roots, that’s my opinion.
―Because of his resignation from exile, some brand him a traitor, others a coward. What would he answer them?
―If he had been a traitor or a coward, he would have chosen the shortest way, that is, send Viñas and Stive to the Supreme Court of Masonic Justice. The responsibility to prosecute them was not mine, and that was fine with everyone. All I did was step aside, I considered myself an obstacle, and State Security, as I mentioned before, used the leadership competition to divide us. Many Freemasons used it, they constantly told me that I was the leader of Cuban Freemasonry.
It would have been a traitor and coward to lend myself to the State Security plans, or to remain silent and kneel. This was the way I found everything: get out of the game before betraying my brothers, before betraying the Masonic precepts.
Neither traitor nor coward. I’m human. It is up to history to judge my past and future actions.
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