More than a dozen Latino organizations are condemning an anti-democratic lie made by Goya Foods CEO and noted pendejo Robert Unanue at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he called the former president “the real, the legitimate, and the still actual president.” I can’t believe we still have to repeat this, but the former president in fact lost the 2020 election.
Unanue was already censured by his company’s board of directors for spreading anti-democratic lies on right-wing television last month. He was reportedly close to being ousted from Goya entirely, but got his ass saved by virtue of his family name. But following his continued shenanigans, 14 Latino groups say that “Mr. Unanue has clearly not learned his lesson.” While they do not outright call for his ouster, they urge “the corporate governance structures at Goya Foods act.”
“Mr. Unanue has made clear his preference for former President Trump and spoke publicly in favor of his policies during the 2020 president election campaign,” groups including Mi Familia Vota, Hispanic Federation, and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute say. “He is entitled to support the candidate of his choosing. What he most clearly should not be entitled to is the platform his role at Goya Foods provides to attack our democracy—the belief and faith in free and fair elections, which has been the bedrock of our union and national success.”
“The election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris was free, fair, certified by state election authorities, validated by our courts, and affirmed by the House of Representatives and the Senate,” they continued. “Mr. Unanue’s remarks this weekend dangerously perpetuate falsehoods that were at the core of the criminal assault on the nation’s capital on January 6th. They are utterly unacceptable and disqualifying for anyone in a position of leadership and power.”
Yet even after white seditionists violently attacked the U.S. Capitol that day, Unanue went onto Fox Business on the day of President Joe Biden’s inauguration to claim his win was “unverified,” and warned of “a war coming, now that the president is leaving today, they're still coming after the United States, the working class.” Unanue was then censured by Goya’s board, with NBC News reporting any future media appearances would need to be cleared first. "Independently, I've made the decision to lower the temperature and walk away from speaking about politics and religion," he claimed to the New York Post.
Uh-huh. It seems Unanue instead turned right back around and cranked the thermostat all the way up. “The social media response was swift, and ramped up calls to boycott Goya,” noted Daily Kos community member Denise Oliver-Velez. And now calls for Goya itself to act. “Earlier this year, the Board of Directors of Goya Foods, including other members of the Unanue family, censured Mr. Unanue for making false claims about the integrity of the 2020 Presidential election,” the organizations said. “Mr. Unanue has clearly not learned his lesson.”
“It is high time that the corporate governance structures at Goya Foods act,” they continued. “This is not a matter of free speech or respecting political differences, this is about integrity. Will Goya Foods honor its more than century-long relationship with the Hispanic community or will it continue to enable the lies of its CEO? The choice is clear.” CNN had reported that a majority of Goya shareholders favor removing Unanue, but he’s been saved by the fact its a family-controlled business. But that luck may not last him forever. We’ll see.