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    A Question of Justice
    Criminal Trials, Notorious Homicides, and Public Opinion in Twentieth-Century Mexico

    Elisa Speckman Guerra (Author)

    9781496244970

    Paperback / softback, published 1 February 2026

    368 pages
    22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg

    “A Question of Justice is based on extraordinarily rich sources. It relates to a topic that is central to the field of the history of law, crime, and justice: the complex construction of notions of ‘justice,’ built into the interactions between legal actors, the press, and judicial reformers. It is clearly a must-read book in graduate seminars and courses on Latin American history, Mexican history, or in courses of law and society or legal history.”-Ricardo D. Salvatore, coeditor of Murder and Violence in Modern Latin America
    “A Question of Justice is an important book for comprehending the history of modern Mexico. This study of crime, its perception, and the criminal justice system will contribute to a developing scholarship on the nation’s institutional trajectory and its legal culture, particularly in relation to urban relations. The book is a significant addition to the English language historiography on Mexico; it definitely merits a reading by students and scholars of legal and socio-cultural history.”-William Suárez-Potts, author of The Making of Law: The Supreme Court and Labor Legislation in Mexico, 1875–1931

    Mexico is a country beset by violence and insecurity, with 98 percent of violent crimes unsolved and 94 percent of crimes unpunished. These staggering statistics illustrate the critical need to understand the history of Mexico’s penal law and justice system, from its evolution and development to its public image and effects on Mexican society.

    In A Question of Justice Elisa Speckman Guerra elucidates Mexico’s penal law and justice system in the twentieth century from the disciplinary perspectives of both history and law. Looking at the critical period from 1929 to 1971, Speckman Guerra investigates the democratic rule of law and to what extent it was followed within the justice system, as well as judicial proceedings considering the role of gender, class, and race. For that reason, Speckman Guerra also delves into homicides involving very well-known victims, like the famous singer Guty Cárdenas, and notorious murderers, such as the Olympic medalist Humberto Mariles; the public image of police, judges, defendants, lawyers, and other actors involved in penal processes; and the representations of crime and justice in print and on film. This extensively researched study illuminates the evolution of Mexico’s penal laws, institutions of justice, and sensationalist media and violence, thereby addressing issues that are critically relevant today.
     

    List of Illustrations
    List of Tables
    Foreword by JosÉ RamÓn CossÍo DÍaz
    Foreword by Sergio GarcÍa RamÍrez
    Preface
    List of Abbreviations
    1. Preliminary Questions
    2. The Design of Justice
    3. The Public Image of Justice
    4. Experiences in Justice: Judges’ Appointments and Profiles
    5. Experiences in Justice: Judicial Practices and Notorious Homicides
    6. The Suppression of Criminal Courts
    Conclusion
    Acknowledgments
    Appendix A: Magistrates Appointed to the tsj
    Appendix B: Judges Appointed to the Criminal Courts
    Notes
    Bibliography
    Index

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