Antonio soberanis family background
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Affectionately known as “Tony,” he dedicated his life to championing the rights of the working class. ". The People’s Committee party is now known as the People’s United Party and is one of the two major political parties in modern Belize.
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The police refused to grant him bail and held him for 35 days, which weakened the LUA and caused many other LUA leaders to leave the group. On top of that, the 1931 British Honduras hurricane had devastated the region. An organization called the Unemployed Brigade was founded to lobby for more jobs and better wages in response.
Despite facing repeated arrests and government crackdowns, Antonio’s spirit remained unbroken. He also traveled to Dangriga and Corozal Town to encourage support for the cause of higher wages outside Belize City. They succeeded in raising wages for some workers, getting more people employed through government public initiative programs, and receiving greater political representation.
The LUA was unfortunately short-lived because of infighting and disagreements among the leadership.
The leaders of the Unemployed Brigade gave up hope and resigned, but Soberanis called the leaders cowards.
At the age of 78, Soberanis died and was buried at his farm in Santana Village.
Antonio Soberanis
As he came to be affectionately called, "Tony," was one of the early twentieth century's leading figures who established a large-scale labor movement in opposition to colonialism and in favor of increased pay and better social and economic conditions.
Antonio Soberanis also aided in the formation of the Labour & Unemployed Association (LUA) along with men such as Igal Lahoodie, Gabriel Adderly and Benjamin Reneau.
Soberanis was noted as saying, “...
On September 10, 1934, Tony and the LUA accomplished the feat of feeding 3,000 people in the Yarborough neighborhood following the march. Antonio Soberanis Gómez, however, would continue to fight for the rights of laborers and for Belizean independence.
Later Developments
In 1942, Antonio Soberanis Gómez left Belize to serve in the British military in Panama during the height of World War II.
As the 1950s dawned, the followers of the Labor and Unemployed Association formed the People’s Committee political party. The LUA became the voice of the oppressed, organising strikes, boycotts, and protests that challenged the status quo. It was against this backdrop that Antonio Soberanis emerged as a beacon of hope. (Belize Estate and Produce Company), John Harley and Co., Hofius and Hilderbrant, Melhado and Sons, and Brodies.
Yet, his legacy lives on.
DAYS OF THE LABOUR AND UNEMPLOYMENT ASSOCIATION
The decline of the mahogany trade, the Great Depression and the 1931 hurricane created terrible living conditions for the working class in British Honduras around 1934-35. Upon returning to Belize, he continued his activism, playing a key role in the formation of the People’s Committee political party in the 1950s, which would later evolve into the People’s United Party—one of Belize’s major political forces.
A Life of Legacy
Antonio Soberanis Gómez was more than a labour leader; he was a devoted family man, married to Violet Garbutt and the father of ten children.
In 1942, he served in the British military in Panama during World War II. He demonstrating his dedication to the greater good. He found the Labour and Unemployed Association in 1934 to demand poverty relief work and a minimum wage. It was the deadliest hurricane to ever strike British Honduras (which Belize was known as at the time) and caused massive destruction in Belize City.
This resulted in even worse living conditions for most working-class Belizeans and employment rates were very high.