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The concept of algorithmic political communication has arisen through the joint development of propaganda and communication theories, as well as the findings of computer science. This is a field that generates results that amplify and extend to political communication, such as microsegmentation or automated diffusion of content; likewise, it produces some adverse effects that hinder citizen participation in the cybersphere. This paper presents a review of works published in three Latin American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico) with artificial intelligence, communication, and democracy as their constituent elements. The data come from a total of 206 documents, including reports from supranational organisms and associations, and publications in scientific journals indexed in databases such as Google Scholar and Scopus between 2011 and 2021. The selection criterion is based on the total or partial appearance of certain keywords, plus filters by relevance and impact factors. This systematic review is structured based along four axes that explain democracy according to Landman et al. (2009): electoral participation, participation of civil society, media integrity, and impartial administration. The main conclusions indicate that many of the practices in the studied countries are still at an incipient or experimental stage, with algorithmic political communication being used especially during electoral campaigns. Similarly, an increasing resistance from civil society to the influence of social networks is starting to be detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mexican Seismic Alerting System (SASMEX) successfully alerted for the June 23, 2020, La Crucecita earthquake (Mw 7.4) in southern Mexico. The time between the alert broadcast and the initiation of strong shaking ranged from 30 s in the city of Oaxaca to 134 s in Mexico City. SASMEX messages are presented from the time the earthquake was detected to the generation of maps of peak ground acceleration in Mexico City. A first pre-alert message was issued based on the tS-tP algorithm by a station located 3 km away from the epicenter. Confirmation of the magnitude (Mw > 6) came from an adjacent station located 43 km from the epicenter, 16 s after the origin time. The decision to broadcast the alert took longer than in previous large earthquakes, due to the relatively large interstation spacing in this region. An algorithm called tP + 3, that estimates magnitude based on the first three seconds after the onset of the P wave, would have issued the alert 4 s earlier. However, the triggering procedures in place require that the same algorithm is used to issue the alert. SASMEX warned all cities where it operates with ample time. Peak ground acceleration in key sites in Mexico City was estimated 3.5 min after the origin time of the earthquake and one minute after strong shaking began, allowing authorities to launch civil protection procedures and building inspections. Also, the earthquake of June 23, 2020 provided important lessons to further improve the performance of SASMEX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]