In an unprecedented event in the history of Cuban Freemasonry, dozens of brothers gathered this Tuesday at the Grand Lodge of Cuba to protest the reinstatement by the Ministry of Justice of Mario Urquía Carreño as Grand Master of the Order.
Urquía Carreño, who was removed from his responsibilities at the beginning of the year by the masons themselves after the disappearance of 19,000 dollars from the National Masonic Asylum, appealed to the judicial authorities of the Cuban regime, who decided to reinstate him in his position.
The incident caused a fracture within the Order by implying the disregard for the will of the more than 300 lodges in the country that agreed to the expulsion of Urquía Carreño, and an imposition by the judicial power of the Cuban regime that nullified the appointment of Juan Alberto Kessel Linares as Grand Master, as expressed by the majority of the Masons.
Following the courts' decision, the Masonic community on the island expressed its total rejection of the reinstatement of the Grand Master and considered the MINJUS verdict an intrusion for interfering in their affairs and imposing its decisions.
According to the independent media outlet CubaNet, some Freemasons expressed their concern about the government's actions, aiming to "dominate the Freemasons and get rid of all those who are uncomfortable for the dictatorship.”
This Tuesday, after announcing the gathering and facing pressure from State Security (Lieutenant Colonel Kenia) to suspend the event, dozens of Freemasons gathered at the Grand Lodge of Cuba amid a strong presence of repressors dressed in civilian clothes, and in an atmosphere of tense calm with calls to maintain the dignity of the protest without falling into provocations or violence of any kind.
"We need to restore the morale and order of the Grand Lodge of Cuba," declared Iriel Hernández Cobreiro from the location, according to statements collected by the aforementioned independent medium.
For his part, Evelio Núñez, from the Eureka lodge, explained to CubaNet that "Cuban masonry is making a very legitimate claim about everything that is happening, and we consider that Mr. Urquía Carreño is a person with very low moral stature to hold the position of Grand Master and represent us and be our voice neither here nor anywhere in the world."
With the presence of independent journalist Camila Acosta from CubaNet and reporters from AFP, the Freemasons stood in front of the Order's headquarters and expressed the reasons for their presence there: to communicate to Urquía Carreño their opinion regarding the illegitimacy of the position he usurped with the help of the State's repressive apparatus, and to negotiate his departure from the office to make way for a new manager who would redirect the process of electing a new leader.
Under the watchful gaze of the statue of the Apostle in the foyer of the Grand Lodge, the Freemasons appointed three representatives to enter the office of the Grand Master to communicate the wishes of the lodges in the country and negotiate a dignified solution for everyone. From there, they went up to the eleventh floor of the building, but they were not received by Urquía Carreño, who remained locked in his office.
In response to that reaction, the gathered Freemasons decided to stand their ground waiting for Urquía Carreño to face them and accept a dialogue with the elected representatives to safeguard the Masonic principle of maintaining the moral integrity of the Order and transmitting to future generations the spirit forged in more than a century of tradition of civism and brotherhood.
At the time of writing this note, the outcome of these events taking place in the capital of a country in crisis is unknown, ravaged by the policies of a government increasingly incapable of responding to the interests of the population and relying on fear and repression to maintain its grip on power, while anguish, misery, and inequality among the populace continue to rise.
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