The journal Critical Sociology has honored doctoral candidate Jorge Daniel Vásquez with its 2023 Erik Olin Wright Distinguished Article Award. The award, presented by the journal’s editorial board, recognizes an outstanding contribution published over the past year by a junior scholar.

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Vásquez’s paper, “The Political Sociology of 21st-Century Populism in Latin America: A Critique of the Ecuadorian Case,” calls into question the universal application of the concept of populism. It points to how particular historical processes need to be considered when addressing the formation of populism in Latin American countries.

Unlike more theorized cases such as Argentinian or Mexican populism, Vásquez uses the Ecuadorian case to show how critical historical contextualization of 21st-century populism requires analyzing the continuities and ruptures with sociological knowledge about a particular populism.

The award is presented in memory of University of Wisconsin-Madison sociologist Erik Olin Wright and his commitment to the nurture of junior scholars. It seeks to highlight works that demonstrate “a critical analysis and interrogation of capitalism, social stratification, power and/or other intersectional issues of inequality in society.”