Cuban Freemasons in the Development of Civil Society and of a Political Opening 179
ment officials, and political dissidents, as 13 of the 75 Prisoners of
Conscience of the Spring 2003 are CF. Hence, CF constitute a legiti-
mate cross-section of Cuban society.Cuban Freemasons and the Civil SocietyThe presence of civil society is a continuous, and not a dichotomous
indicator: there is always some form of civil society present. In addi-
tion, civil society is composed of independent organizations, not all
necessarily opposed to the status quo. Finally, the degree of activity of
the civil society is an excellent indicator of the existing freedom. It is
very important to take these issues into consideration, when research-
ing civil society.
We have shown how CF constitute an important and diverse group
within Cuban civil society, forming a cross-section that includes most
of its elements, neutral, favoring and opposing the status quo. This
provides a natural forum for open discussion, based on the Masonic
principles of fraternity and tolerance. But CF also bring additionalTABLE 5. Distribution of (total and effective) Freemasons and Lodges, by
Provinces
Province Area (km²) Population Lodges Members Effective
Total 109,886.19 11,177,743 316 29,127 10.42
Pinar del Rio 10,904.03 726,574 17 2,706 14.90
Prov. Habana 5,791.59 711,066 29 2494 14.03
Ciudad Habana 721.01 2,201,610 111 9,329 16.95
Matanzas 11,802.72 670,427 28 2,370 14.14
Villaclara 8,412.41 817,395 29 2667 13.05
Cienfuegos 4,180.02 395,183 14 1,387 14.04
Sancti Spiritu 6,736.51 460,328 11 991 8.61
Ciego de Avila 6,783.13 411,766 8 449 4.36
Camaguey 15,615.02 784,178 14 709 3.62
Las Tunas 6,587.75 525,485 6 604 4.60
Holguin 9,292.83 1,021,321 12 1,138 4.46
Granma 8,375.49 822,452 10 1,104 5.37
Stgo. de Cuba 6,156.44 1,036,281 19 1992 7.69
Guantanamo 6,197.97 507,118 7 1,187 9.36