The devaluation enraged labour because it protected the interests of the big transnationals, such as the Belize Estate and Produce Company, whose trade in British pounds would have suffered without devaluation while it subjected British Honduras's working class, already experiencing widespread unemployment and poverty, to higher prices for goods—especially food—imported from the United States.
Devalveringen retade upp arbetarna eftersom de ansåg att den skyddade de multinationella företagen som Belize Estate and Produce Company, vars handel i brittiska pund skulle ha blivit lidande utan devalvering, medan den drabbade Brittiska Honduras arbetarklass, som redan led av hög arbetslöshet och fattigdom, med högre priser på varor som importerades från USA.