The Grand Master of chess Lázaro Bruzón broke his silence on social media to report that his mother was harassed in a store in Las Tunas by someone who blamed her for the political opinions his son expresses from exile.
The chess player, who has been living in the United States since 2018, explained that he had not spoken publicly about the situation in Cuba for a while, but the incident involving his mother compelled him to raise his voice.
"It turns out that my mom, in Las Tunas, went to a store and was treated poorly and scolded by someone due to the political comments made by her son," she wrote in her Facebook post.
Bruzón described the paradox surrounding the episode as "incredible": in the past, his political activism caused friction precisely because his mother did not share his views. Now, she is socially penalized for her son's positions.
He did not hold back in describing the atmosphere in his hometown: "My dear province of Las Tunas is a leader in informants and troublemakers, and I have always been the target of most attacks from there."
He also addressed those who might interpret his recent silence on social media as a change in stance: "Just because I went a few days without discussing the topic doesn't mean that something in me has changed."
Beyond the specific episode, Bruzón took the opportunity to offer a profound reflection on the crisis facing his homeland: "The issue of Cuba is a kind of karma that we are paying as a nation, and until the vast majority of Cubans understand that the root of all evils lies in the failed system established in 1959, everything else is just a consequence."
He reiterated that he will not set foot in Cuba while communism remains in power: "I made the decision never to go to Cuba until it is free from communism. Each day, I repudiate that system and its defenders even more."
And he closed his message with a statement of principles that leaves no room for ambiguity: "Even if I am alone, I will continue to say it: down with the criminal dictatorship that's destroyed the Cuban nation."
The chess player, nine-time national champion and one of the best in Latin America in recent decades, is one of the most recognized critical voices against the dictatorship in exile.
In July, upon turning eight years in the United States, he described that country as the model of what he wishes for a future Cuba: functioning institutions, real opportunities, and respect for freedom.
At the end of June, he described Díaz-Canel as representing "evil, failure, and a burden", following remarks made by the leader in which he defended the package of 176 economic reforms approved by the Communist Party, the National Assembly, and the Council of Ministers.
A few days earlier, he criticized the regime's "cyber warriors," accusing them of hiding and using "offense as their only argument." "Free Cubans speak from real profiles," he said on that occasion.
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