Overview

• The Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas will lodge a criminal suit with the Fiscalía General de la República and an administrative case with Indautor against Adidas and Willy Chavarría for using Zapotec huarache designs without authorization.
• Adidas has opened formal talks with the Oaxaca government to negotiate reparations for the Zapotec community of Villa Hidalgo Yalálag affected by the ‘Oaxaca Slip On’ model.
• President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed that her administration is drafting legislation to strengthen safeguards against the usurpation of indigenous ideas following the shoe design dispute.
• The Secretaría de las Culturas y Artes of Oaxaca and Governor Salomón Jara Cruz have demanded the immediate suspension of ‘Oaxaca Slip On’ sales and are weighing further legal measures.
• The controversy underscores recurring claims of cultural appropriation by global fashion brands and exposes persistent enforcement gaps in protecting collective indigenous intellectual property rights.