IN THE MOUTH OF THE WOLF

A disturbing look at violence against journalists in Mexico through the lens of the murder of a veteran crime reporter.

Despite being a democracy with a constitution that protects free speech, Mexico is “one of the most dangerous countries on earth for journalists,” writes Corcoran, former AP bureau chief for Mexico and Central America. Furthermore, “the situation has only grown worse over time, with Mexico more recently ranking number one—tied with Afghanistan—in murdered journalists.” The author focuses on the still-unsolved murder of journalist Regina Martínez (1963-2012), who was beaten to death in her home in the state of Veracruz. Corcoran delves deeply into the criminal symbiosis that has plagued Mexico since the drug cartels insinuated themselves into Mexican government. Martínez was a hard-hitting political reporter who had cut her teeth at the daily newspaper Política before moving to Proceso, a center-left investigative news magazine acclaimed for its criminal reporting. Martínez had wisely steered clear of covering the cartels because of the increasing danger to journalists who did. Many journalists were either bribed into favorable reporting—or not reporting at all—on corruption schemes and campaigns, or they were simply murdered (“plata o plomo, take the money or take a bullet”). Based on years of dogged reporting, Corcoran dismisses the official line that Martínez was killed in a crime of passion, and she provides a wealth of testimony from Martínez’s mentees, who admired her work and held her up as a moral standard. The author shows how Martínez seemed to be working on the financial misdeeds of the outgoing governor of Veracruz at the time, Javier Duarte, and she may have been on the verge of a significant revelation about the mass graves of those who were “disappeared” during his administration. Readers will be transfixed by this alarming narrative, all the more timely as free speech, even in the U.S., is under attack yet again.

A tenaciously researched work of investigative journalism.