Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.
The highlights this week: The new economics of Brazilian soccer, changing Cuban migration patterns, and a far-right surge in Colombia’s presidential elections.
The FIFA World Cup kicks off next Thursday in Mexico City. Before play begins, rosters already reveal a story about the transformation of Brazilian soccer. This year, 25 players in Brazil’s top club division have been called up for the national teams of other countries, more than triple the previous record.
Brazil’s professional soccer sector has long been protectionist. But in the last decade, it internationalized—opening up to foreign players, coaches, and money. This year, the national team will be coached by a foreigner for the first time in decades.
Brazil’s protectionist streak hardened after its third World Cup title in 1970, when officials concluded that “we’ve done it all with Brazilian coaches and we don’t need the rest of the world,” Brazil-based soccer writer Tim Vickery said.
