In a significant cultural and linguistic advancement, the municipality of Santiago Juxtlahuaca has begun installing street signs that feature both Mixtec and Spanish. This initiative stems from a legal challenge initiated in April 2025 by human rights advocate María Anabel Martínez Villavicencio. She argued that the exclusion of Mixtec from official street naming by municipal authorities and the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI) violated her fundamental right to use and preserve her indigenous language.
A court ruling mandated a meeting to assess the linguistic demographics of Santiago Juxtlahuaca, specifically whether 20% of its population speaks Mixtec, and to evaluate the feasibility of bilingual signage. As of August 14, 2025, Santiago Juxtlahuaca has complied with the court's decision, displaying street names in both Mixtec and Spanish. This action sets a vital legal precedent, potentially encouraging other municipalities with significant indigenous-speaking populations to adopt similar bilingual naming practices. The integration of Mixtec on official signage serves as a strong acknowledgment of the language, fostering regional identity and showcasing Mexico's rich cultural diversity. This development aligns with broader national efforts to promote and preserve indigenous languages, which are crucial for cultural knowledge and heritage. Mexico is home to 68 recognized indigenous linguistic groups, with hundreds of distinct varieties. The Mixtec language, a complex dialect cluster spoken across Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Puebla, has approximately 500,000 speakers. Despite its vitality, several Mixtec varieties are considered endangered due to factors like language shift and the influence of Spanish. Organizations such as the Academia de la Lengua Mixteca and INALI are actively engaged in revitalization efforts, including educational programs and the creation of bilingual materials. The move by Santiago Juxtlahuaca highlights the growing awareness of linguistic rights in Mexico, supported by the General Law on Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples enacted in 2003, which recognizes indigenous languages as national languages with equal validity to Spanish.