By Francisco Beneke*

Competition policy, as we now know it, is a relatively recent phenomenon in some Latin American countries, not so new in others, and non-existent in an ever smaller group. The issue of antiquity is illustrative of the context in which enforcement authorities and the courts interact with each other. It can affect the degree to which they are influenced by older regimes and also tell us something about the path of institutional strengthening that every authority undergoes. In other words, one would expect that long-standing competition authorities face different challenges than their younger counterparts.

Because the post was turning into a lengthy document, I will divide it in two parts. Part I deals with North and Central America and the Caribbean, and part II will present the information corresponding to South America. The latter will be published in one-week time.

The year in which I consider that…