Goal: Obama scores rare foreign policy victory with FIFA busts

Though administration officials have said Obama’s opening to Cuba is the main reason U.S. popularity in Latin America is rising after years of leaders in the region feeling neglected by the United States, the indictments are likely to resonate more with residents of those countries.

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In Brazil, FIFA’s popularity has plummeted in spite of the World Cup’s success. Many Brazilians perceive the organization and its leaders as pocketing the profits from that event while Brazilians got stuck with the bill for expensive new stadiums that now are underused. Brazilian fans also were underwhelmed by their national team’s historic 7-1 collapse in the semifinals against eventual champion Germany.

The 83-year-old Marin must also deal with the stigma of having been a legislator and state governor during the country’s 1964-85 military dictatorship. The family of murdered journalist Vladimir Herzog unsuccessfully petitioned FIFA in 2013 for Marin’s removal as head of CBF and the committee organizing the World Cup, accusing him of complicity in Herzog’s 1975 death by torture at the hands of the military.

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