Winning article

Diana Montaño, « Ladrones de Luz: Policing Electricity in Mexico City, 1901–1918 », Hispanic American Historical Review, 101:1, pp. 35-72. doi 10.1215/00182168-8796462

Based on an impeccable methodology, Diana Montaño uses trials and police and legal archives to tell the story of daily life and power relations in a city that is consciously modernizing. The question of access to electrical services in early 20^th-century Mexico City is original and highly relevant today. Diana Montaño introduces us not only to a forgotten piece of Mexico City's history, but also to rich documentary sources that bring out a whole panoply of voices, from large investors protected by the government to citizens with no other pretensions than to participate in the progress promised by the regime and brought within reach by technological innovation. The article is a fine example of expertly researched and carefully explained historical analysis.