- within Antitrust/Competition Law topic(s)
Mexico’s National Antimonopoly Commission (NAC) published a draft 2026-2030 Institutional Program that outlines the objectives, strategic priorities, and performance targets that may shape the agency’s enforcement and advocacy agenda over the next five years. Although the Program remains subject to consultation and is not yet final or binding, it offers an indication of the authority’s likely priorities and areas of focus.
Context and Competition Assessment
The Program is grounded in a detailed assessment of competition conditions in Mexico. In the NAC’s view, weak competitive conditions in key markets have direct and measurable effects on consumer welfare and broader economic performance.
The NAC states that Mexican households forgo 15.7% of income because of high market concentration. In its study, the NAC concludes that the effect is regressive: higher-income households lose 5.7%, while lower-income households lose as much as 30.9%, or approximately 5.4 times more.
The document further states that, absent distortions associated with market concentration, the NAC believes that inequality in Mexico would decline by approximately 7.3%. The document also notes that 25% of collusive practices identified in Latin America arise in “basic-basket” markets, and that colluding firms may increase prices by up to 49%, or up to 80% in highly concentrated markets.
The draft Program also places these concerns in a broader macroeconomic context. Mexico’s GDP grew by 0.8% in 2025, and growth expectations for 2026 and 2027 remain modest, reinforcing the NAC’s view that competitive markets are critical to productivity, investment, and employment.
Program Objectives
The draft Program is organized around four principal objectives:
- Address anticompetitive conduct affecting price, quality, and availability.
- Remove barriers to competition and other constraints that impair efficient market functioning.
- Prevent undue concentration arising from corporate integrations and reorganizations.
- Promote awareness of competition principles among market participants, public authorities, and consumers.
Strategic Markets
The NAC identifies six strategic markets that are likely to shape its enforcement and advocacy agenda during the 2026-2030 period:
- Financial;
- Telecommunications and broadcasting;
- Transport and logistics;
- Agri-food;
- Healthcare; and
- Public procurement.
These sectors have a material effect on household expenditure and a broad relevance across the population, particularly for lower-income households.
Enforcement Tools
The draft Program contemplates preventive and corrective tools:
- Preventive: ex ante merger review; analysis of tenders, concessions, and permits; and designation of preponderant agents in telecommunications and broadcasting.
- Corrective: investigation and sanction of absolute monopolistic practices (cartels) and relative monopolistic practices (abuse of dominance); investigations into barriers to competition and essential inputs; and determinations regarding competition conditions.
The draft Program also contemplates less frequently used, but still important, mechanisms, including filing criminal complaints and pursuing class actions for consumers’ benefit.
Key Indicators and Targets
The draft Program suggests measurable indicators to track progress against its strategic objectives through 2030. Certain of the more significant targets are summarized below.
From an enforcement perspective, the NAC aims to increase the percentage of investigations into monopolistic practices concluded with sanctions and/or commitments from 65.22% to 66.5%; raise the rate of favorable judicial outcomes in amparo proceedings from 84% to 91.5%; and increase the percentage of investigations into barriers to competition resulting in remedies from 57.1% to 61.0%.
The stated goals include reducing the average merger review period to 25 business days, achieving a 3.5-star rating in GCR Rating Enforcement, and ensuring that 83.32% of the strategic markets analyzed are covered by competition advocacy documents.
Importance for Businesses
The final version of the Program may be revised to reflect comments submitted by the general public during the consultation process. Even in draft form, however, the Program provides indicates the NAC’s enforcement priorities for the 2026-2030 period, particularly in the high-impact sectors noted above.
Businesses operating in, or exposed to, these sectors should consider this evolving regulatory landscape when assessing commercial strategy, transaction planning, and competition compliance frameworks.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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