Sandra Domínguez

Sandra Estefana Domínguez Martínez (1987–2024) was a Mexican human rights activist who advocated for the rights of indigenous women in Oaxaca.

Activism Domínguez was born in San Isidro Huayápam, a Mixe community in eastern Oaxaca, and was of Mixe heritage. She went on to study law at university.

After graduating, Domínguez founded the Liberal Union of Oaxacan Women, an organisation that promoted women's rights, particularly of Mixe women, including encouraging them to enter politics. It also offered support and advice to victims and survivors of domestic abuse as well as the families of missing women. After moving to María Lombardo de Caso, Domínguez started working as a mediator within the Mixe communities, in addition to supporting victims of rape and the families of missing and murdered women.

In 2020, Domínguez reported that Donato Vargas, then the head of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, was the administrator for a WhatsApp group entitled Sierra XXX in which intimate photos of Mixe women and officials were being shared and distributed, including of Domínguez. Domínguez also criticised the governor of Oaxaca, Salomón Jara Cruz, for enabling Vargas. The public controversy that arose around the group led to the sacking of several local officials; Domínguez reported she began receiving threats as a result of her report.

In 2023, Domínguez publicly supported Vargas' ex-partner, Mixe economist Martha Aracely Cruz Jiménez, who accused him of domestic abuse. Domínguez also alleged that there was an additional WhatsApp group, entitled Mega Peda, in which intimate photos continued to be shared among Oaxacan officials, which she alleged Vargas was also a part of.

On 10 October, Domínguez's car was found abandoned in Playa Vicente, Veracruz; activity from her mobile phone was also detected in the area. Domínguez's phone was subsequently recovered in El Nigromante. While executing a warrant for the arrest of an unnamed suspect at a ranch in El Capricho, a shootout occurred, leading to the deaths of two associates of the suspect and one member of the federal police.

Domínguez's mother and sisters criticised the authorities' description of Domínguez being a member of any criminal groups and expressed their anger at the "criminalisation" of Domínguez's character, urging authorities to reconsider her activism as a line of enquiry in the investigation.

Domínguez was buried at San Pedro Ixtlahuaca cemetery. Yésica Sánchez Maya, a Oaxacan government official, stated a memorial would be held for her on 29 April.