Some RI Latino Leaders Call for Goya Boycott After CEO's Pro-Trump Comments
GoLocalProv News Team
Some RI Latino Leaders Call for Goya Boycott After CEO's Pro-Trump Comments
"We all truly blessed, at the same time, to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder," said Robert Unanue, Goya CEO, at an event at the White House Rose Garden.
In Rhode Island, reaction has been swift.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"At [this] stage of my life, as I reflect, I can honestly say that I can’t recall a time when the cupboards in my kitchen, (no matter how bare the may have been at the time) didn’t have at least one Goya item," said former Providence City Council President Luis Aponte.
"And no self-respecting Puerto Rican would be without adobo. As sad as it is, given the statements made by the Goya’s CEO regarding 45, This 'Bad Hombre' can’t in good conscience spend another dollar on any Goya products and strongly encourage others to boycott Goya products," he said.
"I found a decent video on how to make Adobo which I’ve posted — and remember, “Si es Goya”, Manadalo P’al Carajo!!" Aponte added.
“Et tu, Goya?” said former Central Falls Superintendent and now Rhode Island Department of Education official Victor Capellan. “I will join the #BoycottGoya.”
Former Roger Williams University Latino Policy Institute Director Gabriela Domenzain shared the following.
"So if you're Mexican in the US today: The President despises you & despotically works to expunge you. Your boss is sacrificing you to COVID-19 so the country can eat. And the dollars you're able to save to nourish yourself are going to Goya, a company that calls this all a "blessing," she posted.
Some in Rhode Island have come to Goya’s defense.
“If the CEO is praising Trump that means Trump is good for his business which is good for the employees of that business. #supportgoya,” wrote Anthony Sionni, a community and political activist in Providence.
About Goya
Nationally, the Goya boycott has gained steam.
“Almost immediately, #BoycottGoya, #GoyaFoods and #Goyaway began trending on social media platforms like Twitter, with scorn coming seemingly from all directions, including some big political names,” reported TIME.
“Many were angered by the support, citing Trump’s history of derogatory comments and harsh policies toward Hispanics, most notably, the administration’s policy of separating immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border,“ Time continued.
Goya was founded in Manhattan in 1936 by Don Prudencio Unanue and his wife Carolina, immigrants from Spain.
The company calls itself the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States.