Mexico Still Lacks a General AI Law

Updated August 21, 2026: El Financiero added that, beyond the legislative lag, one of the main unresolved issues is which entity will oversee enforcement after INAI disappeared.

Mexico still has no general cybersecurity law or general artificial intelligence law, while Congress keeps proposals in committee and the debate moves between federal bills, constitutional reforms, and partial frameworks already approved or announced.

Cybersecurity: six years without a general law

Six years after Mexico first began discussing a cybersecurity law, the country still lacks a regulatory framework that would require corporations and public institutions to meet minimum standards to protect critical infrastructure and user privacy, according to El Financiero on August 7, 2026.

The same report says the legislative delay continues even though the sector already has diagnostics and government plans. Debate reported that in December 2025 the National Cybersecurity Plan 2025-2030 was presented, and that in 2026 the General Cybersecurity Policy for the Federal Public Administration was published, which led to the creation of the National Cybersecurity Council chaired by the SSPC.

El Financiero also said in that report that one of the main pending issues is determining which agency will monitor compliance with the rule after INAI disappeared.

AI, between state projects and federal proposals

The picture in artificial intelligence is similar. El Imparcial reported that Mexico is facing fragmented regulation, with around 200 state-level initiatives related to the technology and 39 approved, but no general law setting common criteria.

The same outlet added that the Senate's specialized committee announced a regulatory framework and a national AI plan on April 30, but the proposal did not reach the floor before the legislative period ended and could be taken up again in the next ordinary session. It also said companies and users are already dealing with fraud, deepfakes, and scattered rules.

At the federal level, the legislative pieces are still moving. El Financiero published a column on August 3, 2026, stating that Mexico does not have an approved general artificial intelligence law and that pending initiatives remain in committee. Itsitio México also reported that on July 24, 2026, a bill was introduced in the Chamber of Deputies to enact the Federal Law for the Ethical, Sovereign, and Inclusive Development of Artificial Intelligence and to create a National Artificial Intelligence Council and an Algorithmic Auditing National Platform.

The constitutional route

In parallel, El Economista reported that Gabriela Jiménez Godoy, Morena's deputy coordinator in the Chamber of Deputies, introduced a proposal before the Permanent Commission to reform Article 73 of the Constitution and explicitly authorize Congress to pass laws on the use, development, and implementation of artificial intelligence systems.

That proposal seeks to give Congress express authority to legislate on the use and deployment of AI systems, confirming that the debate is still centered first on constitutional authority before any final general law.