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Using the Schumpeterian notion of Creative Destruction, this paper discusses the role of antitrust in the process of economic reform and illustrates with the Latin American case. According to that notion, competition is a process wherein firms strive to survive under an evolving set of rules that engenders winners and losers. The main instrument that allows firms to be ahead of their competitors is the introduction of informational asymmetries that may result either from technological innovation, rent seeking or organized crime. To the public authorities this process implies two challenges. The former is to identify the situations that require intervention and the latter is to ensure that innovation will be the only available instrument for creating in- formational asymmetries.

RESUMOAo longo dos últimos 10 anos, o governo brasileiro lançou vários planos para promover a inovação da indústria e reforçar sua competitividade a nível nacional. No entanto, os resultados têm se mostrado pobres devido às distorções criadas por alguns instrumentos herdados da época da substituição de importações, tais como altas tarifas sobre bens intermediários e de máquinas, regras de conteúdo local e proteção antidumping. Este artigo destaca o papel desempenhado por esses instrumentos usando dois exemplos: investigações antidumping e uma regra de conteúdo local peculiar que só existe no Brasil, o chamado Processo Produtivo Básico (PPB).

This paper analyzes the institutional innovations that are expected from the recent MERCOSUR protocol on competition policy. At the national level, the protocol constitutes a new driving force toward the conclusion of the ongoing economic reforms in the member countries. At the regional level, it provides an additional instrument for controlling the imbalances of the integration process. However, since competition policy is a new subject in the region, the attainment of these potentialities will imply a long-term cooperation effort among MERCOSUR governments. The results of this experience will affect the debate about antitrust issues in other forums such as the FTAA and the WTO.

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