Coca-Cola amongst the companies targeted in new round of boycotts
Not dissimilar to the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction, or BDS, movement aimed at targeting businesses with perceived ties to Israel, a new grassroots movement has taken root on social media.
While there have been calls to boycott businesses and their CEOs with ties to President Trump and his campaign in the past, the Latino Freeze Movement has renewed those calls. The president’s statements on immigration and his rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies have sparked new protests.
The movement takes the boycotts a step further by encouraging the use of Latin-American-based products instead of U.S. products to oppose the president’s proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
Which California companies are being boycotted?
California’s fast food staple, In-n-Out, has been targeted again by boycotts due to the former CEO’s past donations to the president’s and other Republican candidate campaigns. The company has about 280 locations in California alone.
Other California companies that have been named in the boycotts are:
Coca-Cola is another big company that has faced social media backlash after a rumor spread that it was assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. However, no such evidence has been verified, and as of 4 p.m. Friday, the company has yet to release a statement.
Google Trends showed the search term “why are people boycotting Coca-Cola” was a rising search term in California.
Although the company is not based in the Golden State, it has dozens of plants and a large Latin-American consumer base inside and outside the country. According to its website, it serves approximately 530 million consumers in Latin America.
The list of companies that are not California-based but have a large presence in the state include:
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Boycotts fueled by DEI rollbacks could affect California