{"id":34992,"date":"2026-07-10T09:12:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T13:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/mexicos-2026-fifa-world-cup-legacy\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T09:12:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T13:12:01","slug":"mexicos-2026-fifa-world-cup-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/mexicos-2026-fifa-world-cup-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome back to Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Latin America Brief.<\/p>\n

The highlights this week: Mexico makes a memorable exit from the World Cup<\/strong>, the United Nations debates U.S. sanctions on Cuba<\/strong>, and Colombia\u2019s presidential transition<\/strong> falters.<\/p>\n

Sunday night marked the grand finale of Mexico\u2019s 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Mexican national team went out fighting<\/a> in a 3-2 loss to England in what was also the last game of the tournament hosted on Mexican soil.<\/p>\n

For Mexican fans and visitors, the mood before and during the match was electric<\/a>. Although many in the country had mixed feelings ahead of hosting the tournament, Mexico caught soccer fever as the national team delivered multiple victories without conceding a single goal, including its first win<\/a> in a knockout stage game in 40 years.<\/p>\n

That June 30 match over Ecuador featured goals by stars Juli\u00e1n Qui\u00f1ones<\/a>\u2014a Black Colombian-born, naturalized Mexican who is changing the way the country thinks about national identity\u2014and Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez<\/a>, who was back at elite performance following a life-threatening skull fracture in 2020.<\/p>\n

After the victory, more than a million people packed the streets<\/a> of Mexico City. A catchphrase<\/a> went viral among fans: \u201c\u00bfY si s\u00ed?<\/em>\u201d\u2014which roughly translates to \u201cWhat if we can?\u201d Though the prospect of Mexico winning the entire World Cup seemed slim, the expression was true to the optimism of the moment.<\/p>\n

The tournament \u201cgave Mexico back the collective joy that it had been missing so much,\u201d journalist Alejandro Dom\u00ednguez wrote<\/a> in Milenio<\/em>. While ticket prices meant that spectators in the stadiums were disproportionately wealthy, \u201cthe streets, in contrast, served as the meeting point for everyone,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

International soccer critics gave similarly positive reviews of the atmosphere in Mexico. The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s Jack Lang wrote<\/a> that the games hosted in Mexico were \u201cits best experience, its dislocated heart,\u201d and that Mexico City\u2019s historic Azteca Stadium \u201cprovided a blueprint for what big-tournament matches like [the Mexico-England game] should look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite some travelers\u2019 worries, cartel violence in Mexico did not interrupt the tournament. More disruptive were activists denouncing<\/a> forced disappearances and calling for higher wages; authorities generally allowed them to demonstrate but not immediately around stadiums.<\/p>\n

Another factor that failed to emerge at the World Cup was political unity between the three North American hosts. Instead, the Trump administration announced<\/a> that it would trigger annual reviews of the three countries\u2019 free trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.<\/p>\n

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has responded calmly to U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s past provocations, dialed up her rhetoric against the United States in the last few weeks. She supported<\/a> a bill that allows for election results to be overturned in cases of foreign interference and pledged<\/a> legal action after the fatal shooting of a Mexican immigrant in Houston by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.<\/p>\n

Sheinbaum\u2019s response to Trump even drew a comparison with the Mexican national soccer team. Just as the Mexican squad shed its \u201c\u2018colonial chip,\u2019 the notion that we are condemned to lose,\u201d author Jorge Zepeda Patterson wrote<\/a>, the Mexican government has responded \u201cfirmly and unequivocally when the imbalance between the two countries threatened to turn into abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zepeda Patterson was referencing Mexico\u2019s fierce style of play in its final game. Though Mexico lost on Sunday against England, it fought hard until the end of the match. Colombia<\/a> similarly drew 0-0 against Switzerland in its Tuesday knockout game before losing in penalties\u2014a more honorable exit than Brazil<\/a>\u2019s 2-1 loss against Norway on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Paraguay\u2014which was eliminated from the tournament in a 1-0 loss to France on Saturday\u2014continued to make headlines this week after a senator from the country launched a racist string of online attacks<\/a> against French star Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, prompting condemnation<\/a> from both French President Emmanuel Macron and Paraguayan President Santiago Pe\u00f1a.<\/p>\n

There is only one Latin American team left standing: Argentina. Though the defending world champions played slowly at points in the tournament, they proved on Tuesday that they should not be written off, coming back<\/a> from a 2-0 lead by Egypt and scoring three goals in 13 minutes.<\/p>\n

Saturday, July 11:<\/strong> Argentina plays Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinals in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

Monday, July 13, to Friday, July 24:<\/strong> The International Seabed Authority convenes in Kingston, Jamaica, to negotiate rules for deep-sea mining.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, July 28:<\/strong> Keiko Fujimori is inaugurated as president of Peru.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla addresses the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 27, 2025.<\/p>\n

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla addresses the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 27, 2025. Charly Triballeau\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

U.N. debate on Cuba.<\/strong> On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly held<\/a> a debate on U.S. sanctions on Cuba at the request of the Cuban government. The assembly normally votes on condemning the sanctions once per year and last convened for that vote in October, but Havana said the meeting had become more urgent given Trump\u2019s fuel embargo on the island.<\/p>\n

Cuba plunged<\/a> into another nationwide blackout on Monday amid the embargo and long-standing problems with its energy grid. The United States vocally opposed Tuesday\u2019s debate, calling it \u201cwhitewashing\u201d of Cuban policies. U.N. member countries still voted 136-9 to move forward with it, with 30 abstentions.<\/p>\n

During the debate, countries largely criticized<\/a> U.S. restrictions and called for dialogue and a normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba. But the event also showcased how Washington is chipping away<\/a> at diplomatic support for Havana.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the gathering, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable to U.S. diplomats instructing them to urge host nations to object to the U.N. debate, Ken Klippenstein and the Nation<\/em> reported<\/a>. A few countries that abstained in Tuesday\u2019s vote, such as Canada and Germany, have voted<\/a> to condemn U.S. sanctions on Cuba in the past.<\/p>\n

Bolsonaro\u2019s tariff appeal.<\/strong> Brazilian presidential candidate Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro\u2014the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro\u2014made an unusual appearance in Washington on Tuesday, testifying<\/a> in person at an Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hearing over whether the United States should impose fresh 25 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s 50 percent tariffs<\/a> on Brazil last year followed meetings with the Bolsonaro political clan, who urged<\/a> the United States to punish Brazil for prosecuting Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges. But on Tuesday, Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro came out against additional U.S. tariffs, saying they had politically benefited his opponents and pushed Brazil closer to China.<\/p>\n

President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u2019s administration opposes the potential new tariffs, too, though it sent a written statement for the hearing rather than a representative to testify. Bolsonaro\u2019s presence reflected how intertwined domestic and foreign policy have become in the U.S.-Brazil relationship.<\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s turbulent transition.<\/strong> Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro has refused to recognize far-right politician Abelardo de la Espriella\u2019s victory in last month\u2019s election, prompting de la Espriella to announce<\/a> on Tuesday that his team would stop attending transitional meetings with Petro\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

International monitors reported<\/a> no fraud in the election. Ivan Cep\u00e9da, the defeated left-wing candidate, recognized<\/a> the results but threatened<\/a> \u201ccivil disobedience\u201d if de la Espriella does not renounce his U.S. citizenship. De la Espriella became a naturalized U.S. citizen after living in Miami for several years.<\/p>\n

Petro\u2019s rhetoric echoes that of other Latin American leaders who have refused to recognize defeat, including Jair Bolsonaro. It also strikes a contrast with Peru, where losing left-wing presidential candidate Roberto S\u00e1nchez conceded<\/a> defeat to right-wing Keiko Fujimori on Monday after election results were certified.<\/p>\n

For how many consecutive years has the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution condemning U.S. sanctions on Cuba? (This tally excludes 2020, when voting did not occur.)<\/p>\n

53<\/p>\n

43<\/p>\n

33<\/p>\n

23<\/p>\n

The first such vote occurred<\/a> in 1992, after Washington intensified sanctions on the island. The United States began its trade embargo on Cuba in 1960.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n A crane lifts a container at Puerto Antioquia in the Gulf of Uraba, Colombia, on Nov. 8, 2025.<\/p>\n

A crane lifts a container at Puerto Antioquia in the Gulf of Uraba, Colombia, on Nov. 8, 2025. Luis Acosta\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

A new U.N. report<\/a> on foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean last year suggests that Trump\u2019s tariffs and the region\u2019s search for economic partners other than the United States may have economic consequences.<\/p>\n

U.S. investment in Latin America was down 11 percent, while it grew from other sources, particularly European countries. Saudi investors continued to purchase Latin American assets, a recent trend that followed the Saudi sovereign wealth fund\u2019s first large-scale Latin American investment conference<\/a> in Brazil in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recent years have been a moment where Brazil and its companies have been thinking a little bit more about the world,\u201d said Rodrigo Santiago of the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro. \u201cThey are looking to see how to improve trade with traditional partners but also with new markets that could better enhance their resilience to this fluctuating geopolitics.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a handful of countries, the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean report also revealed sharp changes in FDI levels from 2024 to 2025. As Bolivia experienced a pro-market turn under President Rodrigo Paz, FDI there roughly doubled. In Ecuador, under right-wing President Daniel Noboa, it nearly tripled.<\/p>\n

But the changes didn\u2019t always map onto party lines: In Javier Milei\u2019s Argentina, FDI shrank by almost three-fourths. It has been steadily falling after an initial boom of enthusiasm in 2023, the year that Milei was elected.<\/p>\n

The consequences of Trump\u2019s tariffs for the region depend on the type of economic activity. Despite the fall in U.S. investment in the region, Latin America\u2019s overall exports to the United States continued<\/a> a longtime growth trend in 2025, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. Early 2026 numbers show that is changing in some countries, with Brazil\u2019s U.S. exports falling sharply. China is their new destination<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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The highlights this week: Mexico makes a memorable exit from the World Cup, the United Nations debates U.S. sanctions on Cuba, and Colombia\u2019s presidential transition falters. Sunday night marked the grand finale of Mexico\u2019s 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Mexican national team went out fighting in a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34994,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992\/revisions\/34994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}