After the imminent consummation of the constitutional reform that will lead to its disappearance, the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Coffee) expressed that he will seek to collaborate with the Congress of the Union in the definition of the new legislation that will give rise to the new competition body of the country, which will no longer have constitutional autonomy.
“La Cofece reiterates its willingness to collaborate with the Congress of the Union in the definition of secondary legislation, in order to guarantee that the competition authority has sufficient tools to effectively combat anti-competitive practices and, in turn, has solid, clear and transparent processes so that Mexicans have access to more and better goods and services,” said Cofece.
In a statement issued hours after this Thursday afternoon the Senate completed the legislative process in the federal Congress of the draft constitutional reform decree on organic simplification, the antitrust body said respectful of the will of Congress to reform the constitutional framework on competition.
However, in addition to its interest in the definition of secondary laws, the antitrust body listed some points regarding the redesign of the institutional framework regarding economic competition.
First, he said that, regardless of the alternatives discussed, “the fundamental thing is to guarantee mechanisms to maintain a strong economic competition policy that continues to generate tangible benefits for Mexicans.”
Then, he recalled that, although the approved reform eliminates constitutional autonomy, “it preserves the existence of a competition authority with technical and operational independence regarding its decisions, organization and operation, and with legal personality and its own assets. All of them are essential conditions for a robust competition policy.”
Finally, he asserted that “as long as the reform comes into effect in its entirety, Cofece will continue to make maximum use of its powers. “It will investigate and punish those who violate the law by harming the population, promote collective actions and continue promoting competition so that tangible benefits are generated for the population.”
The opinion approved this Thursday by the Senate plenary session provides for the disappearance of seven autonomous organizations, including the Coffee and the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), whose functions will be concentrated, for the most part, by agencies of the federal public administration.
However, in matters of competition, the Tenth transitory article of the opinion establishes that “The authority in matters of free competition and competition will have legal personality and its own assets, will be endowed with technical and operational independence in its decisions, organization and operation, and The separation between the authority that investigates and the one that resolves the procedures will be guaranteed.”
This implies that the Coffee It will be replaced by a new technically independent authority, although attached to the Ministry of Economy.
The ruling also contemplates that the new competition authority will be in charge of ensuring free competition and competition in the telecommunications and broadcasting sector, in addition to the asymmetric regulation of the participants in this sector, functions that today fall to the IFT.
According to the legislative opinion, the disappearance of Cofece and the IFT will take place 180 days from the entry into force of the secondary legislation of the reform.
In the next few hours, it is expected that the minutes on organic simplification will be approved by at least 17 state congresses, in order to conclude the legislative process of the reform, pending the signing of the decree by the Executive and its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
