 After graduating from university, she went to work at a state-owned television company in Chiapas in the early 1980s, but she encountered various forms of censorship that convinced her to pursue a career in print media.After five years in Chiapas, Martínez Pérez relocated to Veracruz and worked for several local newspapers.In Veracruz, Martínez Pérez faced several challenges of censorship by the political establishment for her direct reporting, and particularly for being an outspoken critic of human rights violations, government corruption, abuse of authority, and for her in-depth coverage of the drug trafficking organizations that operate in Veracruz.