Mexico: Prison time for fuel price-fixers in new open market

Mexico’s Federal Commission for Economic Competition (COFECE), speaking through it’s Head of Investigations, Carlos Mena Labarthe, has declared it will keep a close watch on the country’s thousands of gasoline station operators, some of whom may seek to engage in uncompetitive practices, possibly affecting prices and altering free competition in a newly opened market.

“Gasoline operators who conspire could face a 10 year prison sentence, as well as a fine equal to up to 10% of their revenue. Gasoline operators must be very careful in the existing context in order to avoid falling into uncompetitive, monopolistic practices, which could have them sanctioned by the Federal Competition Law and the Federal Penal Code”, said Mena.

The head of investigations continued, explaining that fuel prices should now vary between gas stations, since a 3% floating band was approved in December 2015, allowing for a small window of price competition. “Inasmuch as there is competition between service stations, consumers will have access to high quality fuels, and gasoline vendors will be encouraged to actually dispatch the amount of fuel they are selling.”, said Labarthe, mentioning a common gripe among consumers.

Full Content: El Economista

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletterr for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.