AIRPORT PRIVATIZATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA: THE CASES OF ARGENTINA AND MEXICO

Abstract

This article analyzes the privatization of airports in Argentina and Mexico. Until the liberalization of the air transport industry, which began in 1978, airport systems were under state control and, in most countries, were publicly owned and managed. In Latin America, the corollary of liberalization was the launch of a later process of change in management of the infrastructure. Most airports were concessioned in the wave of privatizations and deregulation that swept the continent as from 1990. The cases of Argentina and Mexico represent two parallel concession mechanisms, with some similar characteristics, but different impacts. In the former, airport privatization proved a relative failure for the system as a whole, with a not very positive outcome for the state. In Mexico, where the concession system was based on geographical distribution of the territory and the capital’s airport remained under public management, government revenues increased, permitting a significant increase in services and competition between commercial airlines.