  In this work we study an effective version of the 3-3-1 model, in which the
particle content is the same of the 2HDM. We show that the inherited structure
from the $SU(3)_C \otimes SU(3)_L \otimes U(1)_X$ gauge group has a series of
consequences, the most relevant one being the prediction of the masses of the
neutral scalar to be of the order or lower than the mass of the charged scalar.
Given current constraints from collider searches, B-physics, as well as
theoretical constraints such as perturbativity of quartic couplings and
stability of the scalar potential, we find that the new scalars cannot be
lighter than 350 GeV.
