Goya Foods president and CEO endorses Donald Trump – Houston Public Media

Patricia Ortiz/Houston Public Media

The president and CEO of Goya Foods was in Houston on Thursday to announce his endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

Bob Unanue spoke at a Rose Garden event in the White House to announce a “Hispanic Prosperity Initiative” four years ago. Unanue praised the former president during the event and as CNN reported, soon after faced criticism from Latino leaders like Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Strategist Ana Navarro-Cardenas.

Word about a social media boycott against Goya Foods circulated on the internet in 2020 shortly after. PBS News reported hashtags like #BoycottGoya, #GoyaFoods, and #Goyaway were trending on platforms like X, then known as Twitter.

Unanue said during the event on Thursday that he felt the backlash was a double standard.

“I said good things about President Obama, nothing stuck with that. I say something good about President Trump, all heck breaks loose,” he said.

According to a 2022 study by Cornell University, sales for Goya Foods rose for a few weeks potentially because of a counter-boycott of first-time buyers. Sales then returned to normal shortly after.

“Political consumerism campaigns on social media and their portrayal in the press are not always reflected in sales, and the risk of damage to their companies during a boycott may be overblown,” Jūra Liaukonytė, an Associate Professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economic and Management and co-author, said in an article about the study.

Unanue announced his endorsement on Thursday at an event hosted by Bienvenido’s Empresarios Coalition, a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of the Hispanic community. He was joined by a minority owner of the Houston Texans, Enrique Javier Loya, during the endorsement.

“I’m first-generation Mexican-American,” Loya said. “I think that the American dream is alive and well. … There’s a reason why people will risk their families to get to this country. And so, to keep that dream alive, we need sound economic policy.”

Abraham Enriquez is the founder and president of Bienvenido’s Empresarios. He said his organization focuses on educating and putting resources back into the community.

“[Bienvenido’s Empresarios Coalition is] spotlighting leaders like Javier and Bob and saying, ‘this is how they did it, this is what free enterprise in America looks like, and this is why we need to defend it,” he said. “And creating an army of young, patriotic, conservative leaders in America that are Hispanic and that love capitalism in the country.”