Mexico Ranks 8th in Latin America on AI Adoption

Mexico placed eighth among 20 countries in the 2026 Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index, which the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, compiled. The country scored 52 points out of 100. That puts it in the region’s middle tier, well behind the leaders, and it’s a score that should concern anyone who cares about who gets to share in the gains from new technology.

The index assessed each country’s capacity to adopt, invest in, research, develop and use artificial intelligence. Mexico’s weakest areas were enabling factors, research, development and adoption. Governance was its strongest, with high marks for national strategies, cybersecurity legal frameworks and responsible institutions. That’s a meaningful strength. Rules and institutions provide the scaffolding that keeps powerful technology from running over the people it touches.

Where the Region Stands

Chile, Brazil and Uruguay claimed the top three places, each scoring above 60 points. ECLAC puts countries above 60 in the “pioneers” category, describing them as having “high and relatively consolidated performance in infrastructure, talent, research, innovation and governance.” Countries between 35 and 60 fall into the “adopters” group. They have relevant capacities, but gaps “limit a wider deployment of AI.” Mexico belongs to that group, along with Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago.

Countries below 35 points are “explorers,” still at an early stage. Paraguay, Jamaica, Cuba, Guatemala, Bolivia, Honduras and Venezuela fall in that category. The distance between the region’s top and bottom is wide. It tends to mirror existing inequalities in infrastructure and investment.

Who Gets Connected

ECLAC said mobile-network and 5G coverage directly affects whether people can use AI applications at all. According to the report, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia and Peru had the region’s broadest coverage. Connectivity isn’t an abstraction. A clinic, small farm or village school that can’t get a reliable signal won’t reach the most useful tools. Public investment in networks determines whether people share these benefits or watch them get hoarded.

Talent is another pressure point. The region averaged 12.4 points out of 100 in professional training for AI experts. Paraguay scored 28.2, Brazil 24.5, Costa Rica 22.6, Colombia 19.6, Mexico 15.8, Trinidad and Tobago 14.6 and Chile 14. Every one of those countries scored above the regional average. In May 2026, Costa Rica held what the report called “exceptional regional leadership” in its concentration of AI engineering skills, with more than twice the points of Chile and Colombia. Mexico, Uruguay and Argentina made up the next group.

The Business Picture at Home

A related report in El Universal sharpened the picture of Mexico’s position. A specialist cited by the paper said AI use in Mexican companies stands at 64 percent, but only 13 percent use advanced systems. Those figures describe a split economy: a broad layer of firms dabbles with the technology while a small share pulls ahead. When only a few firms adopt advanced tools, productivity gains tend to gather there too, leaving workers and smaller businesses to adapt on someone else’s timeline.

That’s the risk the ranking points to. Mexico has a policy framework on paper. But according to the index, it lacks the research base, trained workforce and broad infrastructure needed to extend the benefits beyond a handful of companies. Public policy, training programs and network investment can do the most good in those areas, where Mexico scored lowest.

Why This Matters:

An eighth-place finish in a regional index might sound like a dry statistic. It reflects choices that shape people’s working lives. The index gives Mexico credit for a respectable governance framework, while showing weak results in research, talent and adoption. Where training and connectivity fall short, people already facing the least access to education and broadband are most likely to miss out. The figure of 13 percent for advanced AI use among Mexican companies suggests that, for now, the technology’s advantages reach only a narrow slice of the economy. Whether that changes depends on whether the state treats access to training, networks and research as public responsibilities rather than leaving them to market forces alone. Mexico’s governance strength gives it a foundation to build on, but the index makes clear that the foundation alone won’t spread the benefits to workers and communities with the most to gain.