In 2008, her right to vote and run for office was formally denied under indigenous customary law, sparking national debate.
Following the annulment of her 2007 municipal election victory, in 2008 Eufrosina Cruz's right to both vote and run for office as Municipal President of Santa María Quiegolani was formally denied under the community's customary legal framework. This decision was justified by local authorities as consistent with longstanding indigenous traditions that reserved political authority for men.
The case ignited a national conversation in Mexico about the boundaries between respecting indigenous self-determination and protecting universal human and constitutional rights, particularly the right of women to political participation. Cruz's story was widely covered in Mexican media and became the subject of the documentary Las Sufragistas (The Suffragettes), which chronicled her fight and situated it within the broader history of women's suffrage movements.
This formal denial, rather than silencing her, propelled Cruz onto the national stage as an advocate for indigenous women's rights. She founded an organization to support other indigenous women facing similar discrimination and began lobbying lawmakers and international bodies. The case became a touchstone reference point in subsequent legal reforms in Oaxaca and at the federal level, ultimately contributing to constitutional changes recognizing indigenous women's full political rights.