Corn tortillas are a fundamental source of nutrition for Mexican families. Given the importance of the corn tortilla market, it has come under the scrutiny of several authorities, including the Attorney General for Consumer Protection (PROFECO) and the former Federal Competition Commission (CFC). (1) For example, in February 2016 PROFECO suspended three corn tortilla retailers from Hermosillo, Sonora, for increasing their prices to up to Ps24 (approximately $1.3) a kilo for no justifiable reason.

Patents are essential for incentivising innovation and the development of new and improved pharmaceutical products. They give innovative laboratories exclusive exploitation rights over their pharmaceutical products for 20 years, after which other laboratories can develop their own generic version to compete with the original product

On July 5 2016 the Federal Economic Competition Commission (FECC) imposed total fines of $3,882,378.52(1) on Denso and Mitsubishi for commissioning an absolute monopolistic practice in a sensible commercial information exchange, the object and effect of which was the manipulation of the price of automobile air conditioner compressors.

Criminal action is considered to be an effective tool to dissuade cartels across the globe. It was introduced into the Mexican competition law framework in 2011,(1) after the Federal Law of Economic Competition and the Federal Criminal Code were amended. Further, in 2014, as a consequence of the new Federal Law of Economic Competition's enactment, the applicable dispositions on criminal liability were modified to increase penalties and adjust some procedural issues.

While the digital economy offers abundant opportunities to customers and retailers alike, it also raises a number of competition concerns, including the impact on bricks-and-mortar businesses, the potential for abuse of market power by major digital platforms and the challenge of fostering online competition while preventing free riding. Competition authorities must evolve and adapt traditional antitrust principles and approaches to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing digital market.

The Federal Economic Competition Commission (FECC) recently issued its Annual Work Programme. The programme's initiatives largely focus on sectors of strategic importance to Mexico's economic and social interests.

On December 8 2016 the First Collegiate Tribunal on Administrative Matters Specialised in Economic Competition, Broadcasting and Telecommunications ordered the admission of an amparo trial (ie, a federal trial in which the complainant alleges a violation of his or her constitutional rights by an authority) against the Federal Economic Competition Commission (FECC) for the actions of its representatives, who had obtained confidential documents protected by attorney-client privilege during a dawn raid.