Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technology story in Latin America — it has become a foreign policy story. From July 24 to 25, 2026, the United Nations held its second forum on Artificial Intelligence and Human Development in Mexico City, a sign that governments across the region are starting to treat AI governance with the same diplomatic weight as other urgent global issues. For any business operating in the United States and Latin America, understanding where this regulatory conversation is heading is no longer optional.
Quick Answer:
The UN held its second forum on AI and Human Development in Mexico City on July 24-25, 2026. Mexican Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco called the regulatory challenge urgent and said Mexico is ready to act, while President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the government is already preparing a regulatory proposal for Congress on the impact of AI and social media on minors.
Key Takeaways:
- This was the second forum of its kind: according to El Universal, it took place at the Colegio de la Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco in Mexico City on July 24-25, 2026.
- Cairo precedent: this gathering followed the inaugural meeting held in Cairo in June 2026.
- A call for urgency: Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco said, in his own words, that "el reto regulatorio que tenemos por delante es apremiante y México está listo" — the regulatory challenge ahead is urgent, and Mexico is ready.
- A parallel domestic agenda: President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that formal discussions began on July 20 regarding the impact of social media and AI on Mexican children, adolescents, and youth, aimed at presenting regulatory proposals to Congress.
- A humanist values framework: Velasco cited Pope Leo XIV's encyclical to warn against the risk of, as he put it, "confiar a un algoritmo el poder de seleccionar quién es digno y quién no, sin que nadie asuma el peso de la decisión" — entrusting an algorithm with the power to decide who is worthy, without anyone bearing responsibility for that decision.
What happened at the UN's second forum in Mexico City
According to El Universal, the United Nations brought together senior officials in Mexico City for its second forum on Artificial Intelligence and Human Development, held on July 24-25, 2026, at the Colegio de la Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco. Attendees included Amina J. Mohammed, the UN's Under-Secretary-General, along with Mexican Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
The forum was not a standalone event. As El Universal reports, this meeting followed up on the inaugural session the UN held in Cairo in June 2026, suggesting the international body is building a recurring cycle of dialogue on AI governance across different regions of the world. Mexico City being chosen as the host for this second forum places Mexico in a visible position within that multilateral conversation, at a moment when governments across the continent are beginning to define their own regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence.
Among the topics discussed, El Universal reports that the agenda included how to regulate and govern AI technology, how to reduce the risks associated with its use, aligning these policies with the Mexican government's humanist values, and the impact of social media and AI on children and youth.
Roberto Velasco's call for urgent governance
Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco was direct about the urgency of the moment. According to El Universal, Velasco stated: "El reto regulatorio que tenemos por delante es apremiante y México está listo" — the regulatory challenge ahead of us is urgent, and Mexico is ready. That statement captures the general tone of the forum: the question is no longer whether governments should regulate artificial intelligence, but how quickly they can do it responsibly.
Velasco also reached for an unexpected reference point to frame the underlying risk: Pope Leo XIV's encyclical. According to El Universal, the Foreign Secretary warned about the danger of, in his words, "confiar a un algoritmo el poder de seleccionar quién es digno y quién no, sin que nadie asuma el peso de la decisión" — entrusting an algorithm with the power to decide who is worthy and who is not, without anyone bearing the weight of that decision. That reference connects the technical discussion about AI models to a much broader concern: what happens when decisions that directly affect people — from who qualifies for credit to who receives a social benefit — are handed to an automated system with no person accountable for the outcome.
This kind of language — centered on human dignity and accountability rather than technical efficiency — is consistent with the approach Mexico has sought to project in international AI forums: one that prioritizes human development over technology adoption for its own sake.
Sheinbaum's domestic agenda: AI, social media, and protecting minors
While the international forum focused on general governance principles, President Claudia Sheinbaum was advancing a concrete regulatory agenda at the national level in parallel. According to El Universal, Sheinbaum announced that formal discussions began on July 20, 2026, regarding the effects of social media and artificial intelligence on Mexican children, adolescents, and youth, with the intention of presenting regulatory proposals to Congress.
This announcement matters because it directly connects the UN's multilateral debate to concrete legislative action inside Mexico. This is not just a statement of principles at an international forum — the Mexican government is moving, in parallel, a domestic legislative process that could turn those principles into real regulatory obligations for digital platforms and AI systems operating in the country.
Two tracks, one goal: the UN's Mexico City forum worked through general AI governance principles at the multilateral level, while the Sheinbaum government is advancing, in parallel, a concrete regulatory proposal for the Mexican Congress on AI, social media, and minors. Both tracks — diplomatic and legislative — are moving at the same time.
What this means for businesses in Latin America and the United States
When a government announces it is preparing regulatory proposals on AI and digital platforms, the signal for any business that depends on online visibility — whether through social media, search engines, or increasingly, AI assistants — is clear: the field you compete on is changing its rules. A business with a digital presence in Mexico, or one that serves Latino communities in the United States, cannot assume the digital visibility rules of two years ago will still apply in the coming months.
This does not mean regulation is a threat to small and mid-sized businesses. It means the way AI decides what to recommend, what to show first, and where to send traffic is now under active scrutiny from governments and international bodies. Businesses that already understand how to appear correctly and verifiably to both traditional search engines and AI assistants — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude — are better positioned to adapt to whatever regulatory framework emerges from these conversations, precisely because they already built their digital presence on solid foundations: structured, verifiable, consistent information.
"When governments start talking about AI governance at international forums, it is a signal that the way machines decide what to show a customer is going to change. Businesses that already have their digital presence built on structured, verifiable data do not need to react to that conversation with fear — they are already on the right side of it."
- Diego Medina F, Founder of MerchandisePROS
What this means for your business
If your business depends on a customer finding you online — on Google, on social media, or increasingly, through an answer generated by an AI assistant — now is the time to audit how prepared you are for that shift. Our AI Search Optimization (AEO) service evaluates whether your website, your Google Business Profile, and your content are structured so that ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews can find you, understand you, and recommend you accurately instead of recommending your competitor. You can review the full details of this and our other services on our services page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was the UN's second forum on AI in Mexico City?
It was a high-level meeting held on July 24-25, 2026, at the Colegio de la Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, according to El Universal, where UN and Mexican government officials discussed how to regulate and govern artificial intelligence. It was the second forum of its kind, following an inaugural meeting in Cairo in June 2026.
Who attended the forum on behalf of the UN and Mexico?
According to El Universal, attendees included Amina J. Mohammed, the UN's Under-Secretary-General, Mexican Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco, and President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
What did Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco say about AI regulation?
Velasco stated that the regulatory challenge ahead is urgent and that Mexico is ready, according to El Universal, and he cited Pope Leo XIV's encyclical to warn against the risk of delegating important decisions to algorithms without human accountability.
Is Mexico already preparing a law on AI and social media?
According to El Universal, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that formal discussions began on July 20, 2026, regarding the impact of social media and AI on children, adolescents, and youth, with the goal of presenting regulatory proposals to the Mexican Congress.