#AdiosStarbucks: Mexicans Launch A Boycott On American Products

MEXICO CITY - Adios Coca-Cola. Adios McDonald’s. Adios Starbucks… No, this is not an excerpt from some person’s diet catalog, rather a political and economic battle between two neighboring countries – Mexico and the United States.

In the light of President Trump announcing his consideration to impose a 20% import tax on Mexican goods to pay for his dystopian anti-immigrant wall, a social media movement was born in Mexico that calls for consumers to fight.

United under viral hashtags #AdiosProductosGringos (Spanish-speaking countries refer to non-Hispanic and non-Latin Americans as gringos), #AdiosStarbucks and others, Mexican consumers are bidding goodbye to US-made products, and raise awareness on the importance of locally-produced food and merchandise.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump signed two executive orders: first one ordering the “immediate construction” of US-Mexico border as well as boosting its security forces, second – speeding the deportation of undocumented immigrants. According to Trump, Mexico should cover the costs of the southern border.

Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto took a firm stance against funding the wall and publicly canceled a bilateral meeting at the White House. Later the same day, Trump’s spokesman announced the idea for a 20% import tax.

As TIME points out, “Mexico has an economy that is only the tenth of the size of [United States] and U.S. import tariffs and the deportation of millions of migrants could push it into recession.” Nevertheless, it refuses to go down without a fight.

Individual consumers have been waging Twitter war as well, targeting Starbucks in particular. And although the actual damage is still hard to measure, a Mexico City-based Starbucks shift manager told TIME he’s already seen a 10% decrease in customers at his store.