Brazil–Spain relations are the current and historical relations between

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Both nations are members of the

Organization of Ibero-American States The Organization of Ibero-American States (, , ; abbreviated as OEI), formally the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture, is an international organization made up of Member states of the Organization of Ibero-Am ...

History

Following the beginning of the European exploration of the Americas, representatives of the monarchs of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

signed the

Treaty of Tordesillas The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in Tordesillas, Spain, on 7 June 1494, and ratified in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian (geography) ...

in 1494 which divided between both crowns the newly discovered lands outside of Europe along meridian 370 leagues. After 1580, in the wake of the incorporation of the Kingdom of Portugal to the

Hispanic Monarchy Hispanic Monarchy and Spanish Monarchy may refer to: *the 1479-1716 period of the Spanish Empire ( Hispanic Monarchy (Political entity)) that is divided in: **Habsburg Spain **Iberian Union *the Monarchy of Spain The monarchy of Spain or S ...

(see

Iberian Union The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the period in which the Habsburg Spain, Monarchy of Spain under Habsburg dynasty, until then the personal union of the crowns of Crown of Castile, Castile and Crown of Aragon, Aragon ...

), the Portuguese overseas territories became part of the Habsburg crown, in which the

Council of Portugal The Council of Portugal, officially, the Royal and Supreme Council of Portugal ( Portuguese: Real e Supremo Conselho de Portugal; Spanish: Real y Supremo Consejo de Portugal), was the ruling body and a key part of the government of the Kingdo ...

came to hold a position of primacy over the viceroy in the

polysynodial system The Polysynodial System, Polysynodial Regime () or System of Councils was the way of organization of the composite monarchy ruled by the Catholic Monarchs and the Spanish Habsburgs, which entrusted the central administration in a group of collegia ...

through which the monarchy operated (even though below the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

). The union lasted until 1640 after the

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

In 1834, Spain recognized the independence of Brazil and both nations established diplomatic relations. Spain soon opened a diplomatic legation in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

.Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Brazil (in Spanish)
/ref> In 1871, Brazilian Emperor

Pedro II '' Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the second and last monar ...

visited Spain and met with Spanish King

Amadeo I Amadeo I (; 30 May 184518 January 1890), also known as Amadeus, was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The only king of Spain to come from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy an ...

. Beginning in the 1880s until the 1930s, a wave of Spanish migrants arrived to Brazil as it was the only South American nation without immigration quotas at the time. More than 1 million Spanish migrants would arrive to Brazil. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

(1936-1939), 30 Brazilian citizens partook in the fighting for the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

and formed part of the

International Brigade The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Brigades existed for two ...

. In 1939, Brazilian President

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

donated 600 tons of coffee beans to Spain which were then sold by General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

for 7.5 million pesetas (equivalent to €85 million Euros). In May 1983, Spanish King

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

paid his first visit to Brazil. The King would visit the country three more times before his abdication in 2014. In November 2012, Brazilian President

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...

paid an official visit to Spain. The visit was reciprocated in April 2017 by Spanish Prime Minister

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (, ; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

Diplomatic incidents

In 2023, the Brazilian government summoned the Spanish ambassador to explain racist comments hurled by fans at soccer player

Vinícius Júnior Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (; born 12 July 2000), commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr., is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for La Liga ...

, and its foreign ministry said in a statement that after "yet another inadmissible episode" it had concluded that effective measures had not been taken by the Spanish authorities to prevent such acts of racism.

Migration

Today, more than 15 million Brazilians are of Spanish descent. In 2015, 133,000 Spanish citizens resided in Brazil, making it the fourth biggest Spanish expat community in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. That same year, 130,000 Brazilian citizens resided in Spain.

Cultural cooperation

Brazil hosts a Spain House in

and a Spanish Cultural Center in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

, while Spain hosts a Brazil House in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and a Brazilian Cultural Center in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. In addition, Brazil hosts Institutos Cervantes in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, Curitiba,

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

, Rio de Janeiro,

Salvador da Bahia Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, being the country with the largest number of Institutos in the world. Since 1984, the twinning between the cities of

(Brazil) and

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

(Spain) was established. Mainly, due to the popularity and

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

attraction of its

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

s, which aspire to become an

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

. Likewise, in 2022, tours of

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

artists to Brazil were promoted.

Agreements

Both nations have signed numerous agreements and treaties such as an Agreement on the Exchange of Diplomatic Pouches (1919); Agreement on Air Transportation (1949); Cultural Agreement (1960); Migration Agreement (1960); Agreement on the Elimination of Tourist Visas (1965); Agreement on the Avoidance of Double-Taxation (1975); Agreement of Cooperation on the use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes (1983); Extradition Treaty (1990); Agreement of Prisoner Exchange (1998); Agreement on Cooperation in the fight against Organized Crime (2007) and a Defense Agreement (2010).

Transport

There are direct flights between Brazil and Spain through the following airlines:

Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spain, Spanish airline after Iberia (airline), Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez M ...

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

and

LATAM Brasil LATAM Airlines Brasil, formerly TAM Linhas Aéreas, is the Brazilian brand of LATAM Airlines Group operating international and domestic flights from hubs in Brasília, Fortaleza, and São Paulo. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of ...

Trade

In 2017, trade between Brazil and Spain totaled €6 billion Euros. As of 2020, Spain's main exports to Brazil included: fuel and mineral oils; machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical appliances and equipment; other chemical products and organic chemical products; whereas Brazil's exports to Spain included fuels, mineral oil; seeds and oleaginous fruits, industrial plants; ores, slag and ash; cereals and food industry wastes. In 2020, Spain exported goods to Brazil amounting to 2,257.5 million euros (18th largest destination of Spanish exports), whereas Brazil exported goods to Spain amounting to 3,515.4 million euros. In 2020, Spain exported services to Brazil amounting to 733 million dollars (6th largest service provider to Brazil) whereas Brazil exported services to Spain amounting to 280 million dollars. Spain is Brazil's 16th largest trading partner globally. Spain is Brazil's third largest foreign investor and in 2015, Spain had US$5 billion worth of investments in the country. Brazilian multinational company

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...

operates in Spain. Spanish multinational companies such as

Banco Santander Banco Santander S.A. trading as Santander Group ( , , ), is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Santander, with operative offices in Madrid. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in most global financial centres ...

Mapfre Mapfre, S.A. (, officially typeset MAPFRE) is a Spanish multinational insurance company, based in Majadahonda, Madrid. The name comes from the old mutual origin of the company (''Mutualidad de la Agrupación de Propietarios de Fincas Rústica ...

Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

Telefónica , S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...

and

Zara Zara may refer to: Businesses * Zara (retailer), a fashion retail company based in Spain * Zara Investment Holding, a Jordanian holding company * Continental Hotel Zara, Budapest, Hungary People and fictional characters * Zara (name), primari ...

operate in Brazil.

Resident diplomatic missions

;Of Brazil *

(Embassy) *

(Consulate-General) ;Of Spain *

(Embassy) *

(Consulate-General) *

(Consulate-General) File:Embaixada do Brasil em Madrid (Espanha) 02.jpg, Embassy of Brazil in Madrid File:Torre do Rio Sul.jpg, Torre Rio Sul hosting the Consulate-General of Spain in Rio de Janeiro

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazil-Spain

Bilateral relations of Spain