A Letter From The Publisher: Dec. 20, 1982

In his most harried moments, Mexico City Bureau Chief James Willwerth suspects that the Mexican political system rivals the Kremlin for having secrets within secrets. But as the current economic and social crisis in Mexico deepened, Willwerth noticed a parallel easing of Mexican reserve toward journalists. "Much of Mexico was forced into the open by its traumas during the past year," says Willwerth, "and, for a change, lots of Mexicans were willing to talk about it in unmasked terms."

To identify as many pieces of the Mexican puzzle as possible for this week's cover story, Willwerth...