“The region needs to move towards modern and coordinated regulatory frameworks that protect consumers, guarantee free competition and allow SMEs to compete on equal terms,” said the Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), Ambassador Lesly David, during his participation in the First International Congress on Competition Law, Digital Markets and Free Competition, organised by Pro-Competencia of the Dominican Republic.

At the opening ceremony for the event, Ambassador David emphasised that “regulating digital markets does not mean stifling innovation; on the contrary, it means creating a level playing field, where the benefits of digitalisation are not concentrated in a few hands.”

In this regard, the Permanent Secretary warned that the rapid advance of digital platforms “has generated dominant positions that can have adverse effects on the market,” such as price increases, reduced quality of goods and services, artificial barriers to entry for new competitors and, in the medium term, a decline in innovation.

“The digital environment has transformed the way we produce, trade and communicate,” he said, noting that international experience, such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe, offers valuable lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean. This regulation, he explained, “seeks to limit abuses of power by large platforms, establishing clear obligations to ensure interoperability, transparency and fair access.”

Ambassador Lesly David also emphasised that “fair competition is not an obstacle to development, but an essential requirement for digitalisation to be truly inclusive and sustainable.”

During his participation in the First International Congress on Competition Law, Digital Markets and Free Competition, the Permanent Secretary of SELA concluded that only through political will, international cooperation and a firm commitment to the public interest will it be possible to build a competition framework that accompanies digital transformation and turns it into an effective engine of development for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Listen to Ambassador Lesly David’s speech at the First International Congress on Competition Law, Digital Markets and Free Competition, available on SELA’s YouTube channel.

The First International Congress on Competition Law, Digital Markets and Free Competition is organised by the National Commission for the Defence of Competition (ProCompetencia) of the Dominican Republic, and will run until 31 October, with the participation of local and foreign specialists who will address cutting-edge issues such as digital platforms and their link to competition, artificial intelligence, digital governance, regulatory convergence and the strategic vision for a more competitive Dominican Republic by 2036.