Sofia sells cups of freshly cut fruit for $8 each in San Francisco’s Mission District. In a day, she can bring home about $75 in sales. A mother of one daughter, Sofia lost her job at a clothing store during the pandemic and has since turned to selling whatever she can while taking temporary gigs to make a living.

“The rich sit and forget, and the poor stay the same,” Sofia said, more than a week after American voters decidedly re-elected Donald Trump. “If Trump says that he is going to deport us, let’s see what this country will do without immigrants, who work jobs that no one wants to work.”

Sofia, 40, who requested to omit her last name, stands next to cups of fruit she is selling for $8 in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 13, 2024. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local

In a historic election, where there was much at stake, 46% of self-identified Hispanic voters said they voted for Trump — a 32% increase from the 2020 election, according to an exit poll conducted by Edison Research. Many cited economic concerns as their primary motivator, associating Trump’s presidency with financial relief, even as his policies targeted immigrant communities.This shift has reshaped perceptions of Latinx voters, particularly Latino men, who make up a small but impactful portion of the electorate.

While this year’s election was framed as a battle over the nation’s moral identity, interviews with more than a dozen of San Francisco’s low-wage, informal, and essential workers reveal a more complicated reality. Despite varied perspectives on Trump’s re-election, one urgent concern unites them: the struggle to keep up with the city’s soaring cost of living, despite working incredibly hard.

Lubia Carranza, 37, who rents a spot to vend outside a local business, stands near her booth in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 13, 2024. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local

Lubia Carranza, 37, rents a spot to sell clothes and toys outside a local business. Like some workers, she hopes the economy will improve. “We have to try everything [politically] and give this man [Trump] a chance,” Carranza said. “I couldn’t complain about the economy when he was president.”

Jose Orozco, 41, an employee at a butcher shop in the Mission, stands near the deli area in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2024. “Well [Donald Trump] won now let’s hope the economy improves,” Orozco said, who is originally from Venezuela. “The economy has been a little difficult.” As the United States moves past this year’s presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, Bay Area residents voice their opinions. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local

Elliot Sum, a 20-year-old student organizer at San Francisco State, wasn’t surprised by the outcome. “Unlike the Democrats, Trump actually presented some form of economic relief,” Sum said. “It comes down to: are you going to choose your livelihood, or your pride?”

Elliot Sum, 20, a student organizer, stands at San Francisco State University’s Bee Garden in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2024. “Obviously, Trump is very staunchly against people who are trans, people who are gay—he’s heading the Conservative Party, and he’s got a lot of people who are rooting for him,” Sum said, reflecting on this year’s election results. “But also, I understand a lot of working-class people who did vote for Trump because, unlike the Democrats, Trump actually presented some form of economic relief—it comes down to—are you going to choose your livelihood or your pride?” Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local

This was the first time Sum was eligible to vote in a presidential election, but like many young people, they chose not to vote for either candidate. Instead, Sum focused on organizing campus protests for Gaza, denouncing both political parties’ support for Israel and artillery responsible for the deaths of more than 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

Ramsey, 56, who preferred to omit his last name, stands inside his family-owned grocery store in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2024. Born in the occupied West Bank of Palestine, Ramsey moved to the city in 1987. “This election cycle, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ramsey said. “There were Trump supporters in the city last week, and they were yelling, ‘This is our city now,’ and that’s kind of scary.” Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local

Ramsey, a Palestinian born in the occupied West Bank who now runs a local grocery store, says he has never seen an election cycle like this one. The 56-year-old fears the new administration will continue to spread xenophobia and racist rhetoric. “There were Trump supporters in the city last week and they were yelling: ‘This is our city now,’ and that’s kind of scary.”

Despite mixed and anxious reactions, the election results have also sparked renewed determination among some workers.

Evelyn Luarca, 50, stood outside the Hilton Hotel, joining thousands of hotel workers who have been on strike for weeks. As one of the leaders organizing the strike, Luarca thought carefully about her response to El Tecolote’s question: Where do we go from here?

“Despite the majority of us not liking Donald Trump, we need to work collectively to help this country continue to move forward,” Luarca said. “We need to keep fighting.”

This portrait series, documented days after Election Day, highlights interviews with small business owners, street vendors, city employees, and food and hospitality workers. Some last names have been omitted at the request of our sources, and some quotes were lightly edited for readability.

Evelyn Luarca, 50, a leader in the ongoing hotel workers’ strike, stands near the picket line outside the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2024. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local
Pamela Rodriguez, 37, sits at her vending booth selling tamales and atole in the 24th Street BART Plaza in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 13, 2024. Rodriguez began selling food on the street after losing her janitorial job nearly two years ago. When asked about the elections, she said she isn’t invested in politics. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local
Courtney Dyer, 33, sits at a table during her lunch break near City Hall in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2024. “As a Black woman, I’m tired and extremely disappointed,” said Dyer, a city employee. “I feel like we—particularly Black women—spend so much of our lives fighting for other people, whether it be for Black men or just women as a whole, and we always get the short end of the stick.” Dyer also believes there is general disappointment with the recent election. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local
Demorié Okoro, 23, a student organizer at San Francisco State University, sits inside the Black Unity Center at SFSU in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2024. “It was a blend of economic issues, concerns about undocumented people, reproductive rights, and also just not wanting to put their vote towards genocide in Palestine,” Okoro said when asked why they and some young voters cast their ballots for a third party this election. “I voted third party to strategically send a wave of a minority amount of Americans that do want to change from what the current third-party system is doing.” Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local
Marion Carr, 76, a nonprofit social services worker, stands in City Hall Plaza in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2024. “From the time of slavery to this day, politics have all been polarized,” Carr said, referring to this year’s elections. “If you were Black, Puerto Rican, Mexican — whatever person of color you were — you had no real privileges in this country.” Carr believes that people like him had to struggle and protest to gain certain privileges today. Photo: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote/CatchLight Local

Pablo Unzueta is a first generation Chilean-American photojournalist documenting health equity, the environment, culture and displacement amongst the Latino population in the Bay Area for El Tecolote....