The Nationalist Movement (Belize)

The Nationalist Movement came into thought in 1934 when Antonio Soberanis Gómez led a group of struggling workers to fight for more jobs and better pay.^[1] This made the people begin to question what being colonized by England had done for Belize. The people then though how a country with many resources, wealthy landowners and merchants, had so much poverty. The poor economic and social conditions of many people living in Belize in the 1950s encouraged them to think about self-government and independence, thus bringing The Nationalist Movement to life.^[2]

This historic movement had several events that lead to its overall success such as The Economic and Social Conditions, Campaign Against Colonialism, Alliance with Workers, The Constitutional Struggle and The Political Struggle. The People's Committee presently known as the People's United Party (PUP) along with the General Workers Union was the major force that lead to the success of this movement. The Nationalist movement was the major historic event that influenced the country's independence.

The Nationalist Movement (Belize)

1930's–1950's
A Major Event in the Political Campaign for Nationalism
Preceded by	The Belizean Labor Movement
Including	The passing of Universal Adult Suffrage
Followed by	The Declaration of Independence
Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II
Leader(s)	Antonio Soberanis Gómez, Leigh Richardson, George Cadle Price and Philip Goldson

Economic and social conditions

Around the 1930s and 1940s, the Belizean economy was mainly based on forestry which was an industry that was declining quickly at the time. In the industry's revival during World War II (1939–1945) unemployment was eased because workers in the thousands immigrated to Britain for jobs in forestry, to work in Panama for the building of the Panama Canal and to the United States of America for jobs in agricultural estates.

Eventually, the war ended and the workers returned to Belize to unemployment and poverty. On December 31, 1949, there was a devaluation of the Belize dollar which caused the situation of the workers to worsen. During these economic times, the working class suffered from unemployment, low wages, bad housing, severe malnutrition, and poor health care.^[2]

Campaign Against Colonialism

The Campaign Against Colonialism all started the night of the devaluation of the Belizean dollar when the People's Committee was formed. It started as a protest against the devaluation and quickly became a campaign against the entire colonial system. The People's Committee became the People's United Party (PUP) on September 29, 1950. The newly formed political party's objective against colonialism and towards political and economic independence.^[2]

In 1951 the group split and the leaders of the party now were Leigh Richardson, George Cadle Price and Philip Goldson. A group of graduates of Saint John's College won control of the Belize City Council and started a newspaper, the Belize Billboard. The main political task set by these leaders was to create national unity from the colonially created divisions.

They traveled throughout the country trying to get people to unite to fight for their rights and the country's independence. The leaders educated people about the problems of colonialism and how the poor living conditions were caused by the system of exploitation. These motivated leaders were concerned with raising the standard of living of the people and were determined to end colonialism.^[3]

Alliance with Workers

The People's United Party had formed a strong alliance with the General Workers Union (GWU). A national strike to protest against the economic conditions was called in October 1952. The Belize Estate and Produce Company (B.E.C.) was a major target of the strike, along with the government, the United Fruit Company and several other companies.^[2]

After ten days the strike was called off when the government and other companies wanted to negotiate. The B.E.C. did not agree to negotiate with the union for wage improvements and better working conditions. There was a forty nine day holdout by the B.E.C. where they stopped the strike by using scab labor that was protected by police.

Despite the in-compliance of the B.E.C., the leaders felt that the strike was a success because it showed that working class solidarity gave workers power and with that they gained benefits. The strike placed the People's United Party in the public domain as a party for working people.^[2]

The constitutional struggle

The PUP emphasized change in the economic conditions of the country, but they mainly wanted to change the colonial political system. They began to demand political power for the people which required constitutional change. Firstly, the right to vote had to be given to the people. While fighting for universal adult suffrage (the right for all adults to vote), the nationalist leaders had to convince people to change their attitudes. Plenty of people, especially those of the middle class, thought the colony was too underdeveloped and its people were too illiterate to have a voting right. In contrary, they suggested to have a literacy test; a system of indirect voting by the districts outside of Belize City; and to reserve powers for the governor.^[2]

People argued in a report that the colonial system was a fair administration and that social, economic and educational development must occur before political independence. Most workers, did not agree. The PUP did not agree with the recommendations and argued that colonialism was the cause of the underdevelopment in the social, economic and educational aspect of the country. They felt that for the country to develop, the people had to be free.

Around the time of the colonial system changes, there were some people (the "loyalists") in the country who felt threatened by any change to the system. The "loyalists" were those people in the "middle class" that benefited from the colonial system and argued against adult suffrage such as traders and civil servants. Universal adult suffrage was won in 1954 by the PUP with the support of the people.^[4]

The political struggle

The political struggle was long and it took civil action to enable the people to make gains in the 1950s. It took a lot of hard work to organize the movement for decolonization. This major struggle became violent at times. A crowd stoned the homes of some politicians regarded as Pro-Britishers and harmed the police guard at the Governor's residence. Due to such violence the government declared a state of emergency which lasted one hundred and thirty seven days. The administrators of the colony created a new party financed by the Belize Estate and Produce Company. When declaring a state of emergency, force was used by passing laws, prosecuting and jailing leaders. The colonial administrators gave in to small reforms. Later on, they appealed the people's loyalty to the King and the British Empire, but nothing relieved the major political uprising. After years of political struggle, on April 28, 1954, the first general elections were held and the PUP won eight of the nine elected seats and 67 per cent of the vote. After, Belizeans began to win increased participation through new constitutions. All leading to self-governance and eventually, the country's independence.^[4]

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