Consumer protection in Mexico

In Mexico, consumers are protected by the Consumer Protection Law. Profeco is a

government entity in Mexico, which was created to promote and protect consumer rights,

seek equity and encourage smart consumption, also to promote legal security between

supplier and consumer. It was established on February 5, 1976 upon publication of the

Consumer Protection Law.

Profeco recognizes the 7 consumer rights:

The seven basic rights of the consumer contain the obligations to favor the consumer:

RIGHT TO INFORMATION Advertising, labels, prices, instructions, guarantees and, in

general, all the information of the goods and services that they offer should be timely,

complete, clear and truthful, so that the consumer can choose what to buy with full

knowledge.

RIGHT TO EDUCATION The consumer should receive instruction in consumer matters,

know the rights and how it is protected by law.

RIGHT TO CHOOSE When choosing a product or service, no one can exert pressure,

condition the sale in exchange for buying something or demand payments or advances

without having signed a contract.

RIGHT TO SECURITY AND QUALITY The goods and services offered in the market

must comply with the rules and regulations regarding safety and quality. In addition, the

instructions must include the necessary warnings and clearly explain the proper use of the

products.
RIGHT TO NOT BE DISCRIMINATED They can not deny the consumer the purchase of

a product or the contracting of a service, nor can they discriminate against or treat them

badly because of their sex, race, religion, economic condition, nationality, sexual

orientation or disability.

RIGHT TO COMPENSATION If a supplier sells a product of poor quality or that does not

comply with the rules, the consumer has the right to have the product replaced or

reimbursed the money and, if applicable, a bonus of not less than 20% of the price paid.

RIGHT TO PROTECTION The consumer can be defended by the authorities, demand the

application of laws and also join with other consumers to defend their common interests.

External Relationship of Mexico

The different levels of economic integration show the degree of interrelation that exists

between countries; the most advanced case is offered by the European Union, which after

more than fifty years with the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, has come to establish

an economic and monetary union. In Mexico, according to official data from the Ministry

of Economy, its level of economic integration is as follows:

Mexico has a network of 12 Free Trade Agreements with 44 countries, 28 APPRIs

(Agreements for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments) and 9 ACE

(Economic Complementation Agreements) and AAP (Partial Scope Agreements) in the

framework of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI). In addition, Mexico

participates actively in multilateral and regional bodies and forums such as the World Trade

Organization (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Mechanism (APEC), the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and ALADI.

The foreign trade policy of Mexico summarizes the name of the trade agreement, the

countries that signed it, the population that is within reach, and the percentage of world

GDP that these trade agreements represent. Mexico has trade agreements and economic

complementation agreements with different countries and trade blocs, including three of the

most powerful economic economies worldwide: The European Union with 31.98% of

world GDP, Japan's economy with 9.85% % of world GDP and the United States and

Canada with 27.96% as a whole.

At present (2018) it has eleven free trade agreements that allow it to market with 46

countries and have access to a consumer market of approximately 1.5 billion people.

Integration area

The integration of the Mexican economy into the American economy begins formally

with the North American Free Trade Agreement.

This treaty comes from the change in the Mexican economic structure initiated in the 80's.

When the government of José López Portillo ended in 1982, the "stabilizing development"

model, which in general terms had characterized the economic and social dynamics of

Mexico since the 1950s, had collapsed.

With an uncontrollable flight of capital, exhausted monetary reserves, the devalued peso

and the broken oil dream, it was necessary to start a great march towards another economic

scenario that did not have oil as a center of gravity and the State would stop being the direct

driver development.
The opening to international trade was the beginning of the new project. A decisive step in

this direction was Mexico's entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

in 1986. The willingness to open up to international trade was such that even tariffs on

imports were reduced to levels lower than those required by this agreement.

In 1980, 64% of Mexican manufacturing products enjoyed advantages that ensured a very

dynamic domestic market; ten years later the proportion of protected products had

decreased to 19%. Similarly, tariffs on imports were rapidly diminished as a measure to

stimulate competitiveness and reciprocity with foreign countries.

The most notable repercussion of the globalization process, in the case of Mexico, has been

a certain weakening of state policies and the transfer of the axis of development from the

central region - dominated by Mexico City - to the north of the country.

One of the notable consequences of this process was the relocation of industries along the

border; the production of an increasingly complex urban-regional dynamic in cities in the

north of the country such as Tijuana-San Diego and Ciudad Juárez-El Paso; close

connection of industrial activity in the northeast of the country with the neighboring state of

Texas and the agroindustrial belt of the Pacific with the southern states of the United States.

A tendency of the current Mexican economic development is its inclination toward

financial, commercial and service activities. From 1980 to 1996 the weight of the tertiary

sector in the Federal District increased from 66 to 77%, with financial and personal services

being the fastest growing.

One of the most important links for Mexico is the one it maintains with the United States,

its geographical proximity has had an impact on its foreign policy.

Since January 2017 and the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States,

he has insisted on the construction of a wall on the border, has proposed the cancellation of

agreements, and the increase of tariffs, in addition to the immigration measures that he has

tax.

The intention with the wall is for Mexico to pay for its construction, and with the arrival of

the new administration, alliances must be sought with other countries to reduce the

commercial dependence of the United States.

References:

Caudillo Peñaflor, C.: "La integración económica de México y su relación con la pobreza

del país", en Observatorio de la Economía Latinoamericana, Nº180, 2013. Texto completo

en http://www.eumed.net/cursecon/ecolat/mx/2013/integracion-economica-mexico.html