I think that choosing a Pope from South or Central America would have
helped the church in more than one way.

First it would signal to the world that the church is not as closed to
something as radical as a non-european pope. Seems kind of strange to
characterize such a change a radical when other religions include
females as a matter of course.

Second, it would have helped the church with membership in Brazil and
other south american countries where membership has been lost to more
open non-catholic religions.