Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement in Mexico, 2011

Date of publication
11 January 2012

 

This report was launched during the OECD Secretary-General's visit to Mexico to meet President Calderón

>> Download the report (pdf, 1000 KB)

>> Read the press release (in Spanish)

>> For hard copies, please contact us

 

The Mexican Institute for Social Security (IMSS) is the third largest public buyer of goods and services in Mexico and the single largest purchaser of pharmaceutical products and other medical supplies.

 

Buying effectively and avoiding bid rigging are therefore key to generating savings for IMSS users and Mexican taxpayers and promoting more competition in public procurement.

 

In 2011, after making significant efforts to improve the effectiveness of its procurement strategy, Mexico decided to step up its fight against bid rigging by signing an agreement with the OECD to work together on implementing tighter public procurement processes.

 

Prepared in partnership with the Mexican Competition Authority and the IMSS, this OECD report:

  • analyses the existing legal framework of public procurement in Mexico
  • lists areas in current laws and regulations which restrict the scope of action for the IMSS and other public agencies and their ability to obtain the best value from their purchases
  • issues over 20 recommendations in specific areas on how to improve procurement procedures to avoid collusion amongst suppliers
  • identifies limitations and drawbacks in the current Mexican legal framework for public procurement

Table of contents

  • Foreword (pdf) 
  • Executive Summary (pdf) 
  • Introduction 
  • The Mexican Social Security Institute
  • Overview of the existing legal framework of public procurement in Mexico
  • Summary of the Procurement Act and other ancillary provisions
  • Alignment of the procurement act with the OECD Guidelines
  • Recommendations to IMSS aimed at fighting bid rigging in procurement
  • Follow-up actions
  • Annex 1. Certificate of independent bid determination (Canada and US examples)
  • Annex 2. List of areas for improvement in the procurement laws and regulations
  • Annex 3. List of areas of improvement in IMSS' procurement practices

 

See also

 

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