Leaders of several national Latin organizations have condemned Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue for declaring at a meeting of political conservatives that former President Donald Trump is still the “current president of the United States”.
Unanue, whose comments previously earned him a censure from his corporate board, made the statement Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, over the weekend in Orlando, Florida.
“I am honored to be here, but my greatest honor today will be that I think we will be on the same stage as, in my opinion, the real, the legitimate and the still current President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump,” he said .
Several Latin groups said in a statement on Monday that Unanue’s comments “perpetually perpetuate the falsehoods that were at the heart of the criminal attack on the country’s capital on January 6”.
This is the day when violent groups, including many armed participants and many who claimed the election was stolen, violently invaded the United States Capitol, resulting in the deaths of at least five people and wounding many others, including police. Trump was accused of inciting the attack and was acquitted in a Senate trial.
Latin groups said Unanue’s false claim that Joe Biden is president because of widespread fraud is an “affront” to millions of Latin voters who voted despite voter suppression.
No widespread fraud was found in the election. But the lie that the election was rigged was told repeatedly in the CPAC, including by Trump.
Latin groups said in their statement that Unanue has the right to support the candidate of his choice. But they added: “What he most clearly shouldn’t have is the platform that his role at Goya Foods provides to attack our democracy – the belief and faith in free and fair elections, which has been the basis of our union and national success.
“It is a slap in the face for those millions of voters and customers to insist, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that they were complicit in a major electoral fraud,” they said.
The groups that participated in the declaration include the US Hispanic Leadership Institute, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Mi Familia Vota, the Southwestern Voter Registration and Education Project, LatinoJustice, the Latin AIDS Commission, Alianza Americas, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute , the Hispanic Federation, Presente.org and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.
Goya Foods did not immediately respond to requests for comment via email and telephone.
Unanue praised Trump at an event at the White House in July, saying the country was “truly blessed” for having him as a leader. This started a boycott campaign against Goya Foods, which calls itself the largest Hispanic-owned food brand in the country.
The comments generated a reaction on social networks with the hashtags #BoycottGoya and #goyaway. Trump and his allies responded with support for the company.
Goya’s board censored Unanue in January after he made similar false claims about the election. Unanue said the reaction is a “suppression of freedom of expression”.
Although the majority of Latinos voted for Biden, polls showed that Trump won about a third of the votes cast by Latinos.
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