SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — America's overtaxed political landscape has potentially become riskier for businesses ahead of the 2020 presidential election, as Goya, a food company with a clientele, found out this week. extremely faithful.
The company, which makes products used in many Hispanic kitchens but whose consumers extend far beyond that sector, came under fire after its CEO praised President Donald Trump at a White House event.
advertisementGoya was founded in Manhattan in 1936 by two Spanish immigrants, Don Prudencio Unanue and his wife Carolina. The company boasts that it is the largest Hispanic-owned food manufacturer in the United States.
Robert Unanue, grandson of the founders and now CEO of Goya, spoke Thursday at an event in the White House Rose Garden to announce a "Hispanic Prosperity Initiative."
advertisement“For all of us it is a blessing to have a leader like President Donald Trump who is a builder,” Unanue said from a podium next to Trump.
Almost immediately, the hashtags #BoycottGoya, #GoyaFoods and #Goyaway (Goya vete) became a trend on Twitter and other social networks. Expressions of rancor began to arrive from all sectors, without missing relevant political names.
The voices calling for a boycott of Goya were joined this Friday by the former congressman for District 4 of Illinois, Puerto Rican Luis Gutiérrez, who in a video asked not to buy those products and assured that he would not do so again.
That response was countered online by Trump supporters, demonstrating how any brand, whether it makes clothing or, as Goya does, beans, olive oil and marinade, faces potential risk prior to what it already is. a very controversial choice.
Those pushing to boycott Goya products cited Trump's history of disparaging remarks against Hispanics, especially the administration's efforts to separate immigrant families at the US-Mexico border.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she would learn to cook the products Goya makes herself. Lin-Manuel Miranda, author and star of the hit Broadway show "Hamilton," agreed with the congresswoman.
Unanue stood his ground during a Friday appearance on "Fox & Friends."
“I won't apologize for saying — and especially when the president of the United States calls you — would you say, 'no, I'm sorry, I'm busy, no thanks?'” Unanue said. "I didn't tell the Obamas and I didn't tell President Trump."
Trump has worked hard to win Latino votes, which could be decisive in Arizona and other states. On Wednesday, he received Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the White House with pompous words and called Mexico a valued partner. His tone contrasted with his 2016 campaign in which he called Mexicans “rapists” and thundered against migrants who enter the country without authorization.
Many of those who defended Goya on Friday pointed to the company's altruistic trajectory.
Goya recently donated 136 tons of food, or about 270,000 meals, to food banks and other organizations due to the pandemic. The company also said it donated more than 20,000 masks. Last month, Goya presented thousands of kilos (pounds) of food for families in the Bronx and Harlem affected by COVID-19 and made a donation to a public school in Queens.
—With information from the Chicago Tribune en Español
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