Mexico monopolies in spotlight
Battles between three Mexican billionaires over control of the lucrative telecoms sector heated up again this week , intensified by international criticism of monopolistic practices .
Carlos Slim-the world's richest man according to Forbes magazine -received a boost to his dominance of the Mexican cell phone market when the country 's competition watchdog blocked a 1.6 billion dollar telecoms deal to link the media empires of two big rivals.
The deal would have united interests of Emilio Azcarraga , who owns Televisa , the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world , and Ricardo Salinas , who owns telephone company Iusacell and Mexico's second broadcaster TV Azteca . But the Federal Competition commission's board ruled on Wednesday against Televisa's planed acquisition of half of indebted Iusacell.
Both companies said they would contest the decision , and police even intervened to let the commission representatives enter Iusacell's headquarters amid scuffles and shouting . "It's almost like an episode in the Wild West , where the sheriff can't enter to resolve a fight and thec consumers are paying the cost," said Jorge Fernando Negrete , director of Mediatelecom consultancy .
Azcarraga and Salinas have been rivals up to now ,as owners of the two main analog television some 70 percent of that market . A merger of their interest through mobile phone present a direct challenge to Slim, who is seeking authorisation to enter the cable TV market , also dominated by Televisa .
Battles between three Mexican billionaires over control of the lucrative telecoms sector heated up again this week , intensified by international criticism of monopolistic practices .
Carlos Slim-the world's richest man according to Forbes magazine -received a boost to his dominance of the Mexican cell phone market when the country 's competition watchdog blocked a 1.6 billion dollar telecoms deal to link the media empires of two big rivals.
The deal would have united interests of Emilio Azcarraga , who owns Televisa , the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world , and Ricardo Salinas , who owns telephone company Iusacell and Mexico's second broadcaster TV Azteca . But the Federal Competition commission's board ruled on Wednesday against Televisa's planed acquisition of half of indebted Iusacell.
Both companies said they would contest the decision , and police even intervened to let the commission representatives enter Iusacell's headquarters amid scuffles and shouting . "It's almost like an episode in the Wild West , where the sheriff can't enter to resolve a fight and thec consumers are paying the cost," said Jorge Fernando Negrete , director of Mediatelecom consultancy .
Azcarraga and Salinas have been rivals up to now ,as owners of the two main analog television some 70 percent of that market . A merger of their interest through mobile phone present a direct challenge to Slim, who is seeking authorisation to enter the cable TV market , also dominated by Televisa .
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