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Adidas gives in: German brand apologizes for claims of ‘cultural appropriation’ in Mexico

The Mexican government demanded apologies and compensation from the company, which it accused of stealing an indigenous design for its Oaxaca Slip-On footwear.

Mexican government criticizes Adidas

Mexican government criticizes AdidasYouTube/El Economista.

Virginia Martínez
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Virginia Martínez

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Adidas came out to apologize after the government of Claudia Sheinbaum and the state of Oaxaca accused the sportswear brand of "cultural appropriation."

"We offer a public apology and reaffirm our commitment to collaborate with [the community of] Yalalag in a respectful dialogue that honors their cultural legacy," the company said in a statement reported by The New York Times, after acknowledging that its Oaxaca Slip-On model had been "inspired by a design from Oaxaca, rooted in the tradition of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag."

Also coming out to apologize was American designer with Mexican roots, Willy Chavarria, who said in a statement to AFP that he "deeply" regretted that his design had "appropriated" the state's name and had not "been developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community."

"It is intellectual property, collective, there has to be compensation, there has to be compliance with the law of heritage and we will see if in the talk it is resolved; we are also exploring the legal route," President Claudia Sheimbaum said last week.

Critics of the president accused her of diverting attention from more serious problems, such as insecurity. One of them was businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego, one of the richest men in the world according to Forbes, who recalled the Izaguirre ranch scandal, a narco recruitment center where dozens of bodies were found:

Bukele previously criticized Chavarria for "glorifying criminals"

Chavarria starred in another brush with a Hispanic-American government just months ago. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele accused him in July of "glorifying criminals" over a parade in which he allegedly criticized the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador.

During a Paris Fashion Week runway show, several tattooed men dressed in white T-shirts and shorts knelt in a row, referencing a pose captured in several photographs of inmates at the maximum-security prison.

"We are ready to send them all to Paris as soon as we get the green light from the French government," Bukele joked on social media.

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