People Call to Boycott Goya After Company CEO Praises Trump
Updated Feb. 8 2021, 6:03 a.m. ET
Today, Goya Foods’ CEO, Robert Unanue, announced that “We’re all truly blessed...to have a leader like President Trump” during an executive order signing ceremony at the White House. Given Unanue’s background and Goya’s customer base, many are outraged that Goya stands behind such a problematic person.
Here’s a bit about Goya’s origins.
Goya, which was founded in 1936, is an American company whose target demographic is mainly Latinx. The founder, Prudencio Unanue Ortiz is from Valle de Mena, Spain, and later emigrated to Puerto Rico, where he lived until he and his wife moved to New York. The Goya brand has stayed within the family, with Robert (Prudencio’s grandson) running the business now.
#BoycottGoya is currently trending.
People are calling for a Goya boycott because Unanue, whose family members are immigrants from Puerto Rico, has seemingly endorsed a president who has shown nothing but disrespect to the Latinx community, and has been the driving force behind tearing apart immigrant families and perpetuating dangerous and damaging stereotypes. Back in 2015, when Trump was first running for President, he told the public that Mexicans, specifically were “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
In 2019, when announcing FEMA’s involvement in helping Puerto Rico with Hurricane Dorian, Trump called the Mayor of San Juan “incompetent,” saying, “Puerto Rico is one of the most corrupt places on earth. Their political system is broken and their politicians are either Incompetent or Corrupt. Congress approved Billions of Dollars last time, more than anyplace else has ever gotten, and it is sent to Crooked Pols. No good! And by the way, I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to Puerto Rico!”
And in 2017, Trump visited Puerto Rico after it was ravaged by Hurricane Maria and tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd. He announced that the U.S. territory was “lucky” that more people didn’t die from the hurricane, and made statements about how Puerto Rico needed to do better on its own.
These are only a couple examples of Trump’s racism and disregard for human life. But the examples are enough to showcase why people are so disappointed that Goya would ever back a person with such few ethical values.
One person tweeted, “I am Latino, feel Embarrass of GOYA Company kissing Trump's A$$ with lies after He did nothing to Help US Citizens in Puerto Rico & Killed My Parents during Hurricane Maria, We need to #BoycottGoya & any Product that support Liar Corrupt Criminal Racist Dictator @realDonaldTrump!”
And don’t forget, there are great alternatives to Goya, anyway.
Need a good adobo recipe? Here ya go. Bye, Goya.
Goya has yet to respond to the backlash.