MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Agustín Aguilar López, Carlos García Cueva and Joana Karime Novia Ibarra, Aziz & Kaye Business Law
whether the proceedings conducted by, and the deci - sion of, the CNA were in accordance with the Con - stitution, specifically whether there is any potential infringement of fundamental rights. It is important to note that, unlike in other jurisdictions, Mexican courts do not determine whether a violation of the FECL has been committed. Nonetheless, as will be discussed, allegedly affected parties may seek compensation for damages arising from anti-competi - tive conduct by filing a claim before the federal courts specialised in competition, telecommunications and broadcasting. 1.2 Recent Developments In amparo trials challenging antitrust enforcement, courts in Mexico have traditionally deferred to the competition agency, often avoiding substantive review. This has limited the development of antitrust jurisprudence. When rulings favour private parties, they usually address procedural rather than substan - tive issues. At the same time, Mexico has undergone a signifi - cant judicial reform introducing the popular election of federal judges. The first round of elections took place on 1 June 2025, and the newly elected judges and magistrates took office in September 2025, with official appointments to specific courts published in the Federal Official Gazette on 12 September 2025. It is important to highlight that this reform directly impacts the specialised courts on competition, tel - ecommunications and broadcasting. All three spe - cialised district judges were elected in June 2025, several of them with prior professional experience at the COFECE or the IFT. Even though the elected judges have profiles with experience in competition matters, this is the first time in which judges have been appointed following an electoral process rather than by having a judicial career, and it remains to be seen whether this will affect the interpretive continuity of antitrust case law. Separately, the Supreme Court’s Second Cham - ber recently issued key rulings in Amparos en Revisión 428/2023 and 531/2024, recognising the legality of COFECE’s investigatory powers regarding
the use of information collected during dawn raids. The Supreme Court confirmed that the competition authority may lawfully access and use digital infor - mation from computers and mobile devices during dawn raids, as such data is considered as part of the ordinary course of business and not protected by con - stitutional privacy rights. These rulings are expected to support the continued use of similar investigatory powers by the CNA. Additionally, the reformed FECL now explicitly excludes public enterprises from its scope, meaning that entities such as Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX, Mexico’s integrated oil and gas company responsi - ble for exploration, production, refining, logistics and marketing) and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE, the Federal Electricity Commission, which gen - erates, transmits and distributes electricity across the country) are no longer subject to the FECL, including fines, investigations and other enforcement actions. The reformed FECL also broadens the definition of absolute monopolistic practices, or cartels, expressly to capture exchanges of information, in addition to contracts, agreements and arrangements, when used to fix prices, restrict output, allocate markets or rig bids. In the authors’ view, this amendment is likely to narrow the scope for defences premised on the absence of a formal agreement between economic agents. Another significant change is that potential competi - tors – and not only current competitors – may engage in this type of practice. Finally, although the new National Code of Civil and Family Procedures was recently enacted, it did not alter the framework for antitrust damages or class actions, meaning that very few claims for antitrust damages have been filed or resolved in Mexico, leav - ing the field largely undeveloped. However, the reform to the FECL now expressly allows plaintiffs to seek damages before the CNA’s resolution is final and unappealable, introducing a new dimension to anti - trust liability in the country.
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