Brazil–Hungary relations are the

diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

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

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The importance of relations centres on the history of Hungarian immigration to Brazil. Approximately 100,000 Brazilians have Hungarian ancestry, making it the largest Hungarian 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 ...

.História breve das relações bilaterais (in Portuguese)
/ref> Both nations are members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

History

The first wave of Hungarian immigration to Brazil took place in the second half of the nineteenth century, due to the promise from Brazil to provide pieces of land for immigrants (as a way to encourage European immigration to the country) with many settling in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. In 1871, during a tour of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Emperor

Pedro II of Brazil ''Don (honorific), 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 List o ...

visited Hungary (at the time part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

).Brasil-Hungria (in Portuguese)
/ref> In 1873, Brazil opened an honorary consulate in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. In 1917, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Brazil declared war on the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

(which included Hungary). The second big wave of Hungarian immigrants arrived to Brazil just after World War I, mainly from the territories Hungary lost as a consequence of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

. In 1923, Brazil recognized the independence of Hungary and in 1927, both nations established diplomatic relations. That same year, Hungary 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 ...

and Brazil opened one too in Budapest in 1929. In 1942, Brazil declared war on the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

(for which Hungary belonged to). As a result, diplomatic relations between Brazil and Hungary were severed. During the war (and soon afterwards), many Hungarians immigrated to Brazil, particularly Hungarians of Jewish origin. Relations between both nations were re-established in 1961 and in 1962, Brazil re-opened its diplomatic legation in Budapest. In 1974, both nations elevated their legations to embassies. In 1994, Brazilian President-Elect,

Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor, and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 1 January 2003. He was the first Brazi ...

, paid a visit to Hungary. In 1997, Hungarian President

Árpád Göncz Árpád Göncz (; 10 February 1922 – 6 October 2015) was a Hungarian writer, translator, lawyer and liberal politician who served as President of Hungary from 2 May 1990 to 4 August 2000. Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution of 19 ...

paid a visit to Brazil, becoming the first Hungarian head-of-state to visit the South American nation. In 2011, the Hungarian Government launched a strategic planning document that included Brazil among its foreign policy priorities. In 2013, Brazilian Vice-President

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...

paid a visit to Hungary. In 2017, both nations celebrated 90 years of diplomatic relations. In January 2019, Hungarian Prime Minister,

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

, paid a visit to Brazil to attend the inauguration of President

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...

. In February 2022, Bolsonaro paid a visit to Hungary, making him the second Brazilian President in office to visit the country. During the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in July 2022 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Péter Szijjártó Péter Szijjártó (; born 30 October 1978) is a Hungarian politician who has been Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hungary), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2014. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...

requested a meeting with Brazilian Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights Cristiane Britto, to learn more about the Brazilian electoral environment. Britto commented about polarization and highlighted the similarities in the views of both countries regarding family issues. Szijjártó asked if there was anything that Hungary could do to help in Bolsonaro's reelection, and highlighted that Brazil had the largest Hungarian community in

and that it mostly supported the incumbent president.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Brazil to Hungary * Emperor

(1871) * Vice-President

(2013) * Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo (2019) * President

(2022) High-level visits from Hungary to Brazil * Foreign Minister

Géza Jeszenszky Géza Jeszenszky (born 10 November 1941) is a Hungarian politician and associate professor, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a former ambassador to the United States. He was ambassador of Hungary to Norway and Iceland from 2011 to 2014. Fa ...

(1992) * President

(1997) * Foreign Minister

János Martonyi János Martonyi (born in Kolozsvár, Hungary (today Cluj-Napoca, Romania), 5 April 1944) is a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Fidesz – Hungarian ...

(2012) * President

János Áder János Áder (; born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer who served as President of Hungary from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time politician of the Right-wing politics, right-wing Fidesz. As a representative of his party, he took par ...

(2012, 2016, 2018) * Prime Minister

(2016, 2019) * Foreign Minister

(2019)

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement to avoid double taxation (1986); Agreement on Scientific, Technical and Technological Cooperation (1992); Agreement on Economic Cooperation (2006); Memorandum of Understanding between Hungary's Eximbank and the

Brazilian Development Bank The National Bank for Economic and Social Development or NBESD (, abbreviated: BNDES) is a development bank structured as a federal public company associated with the Ministry of the Economy of Brazil. The stated goal is to provide long-term fi ...

(2012); and an Agreement of Cooperation between the Hungarian Ministry of Rural Development and the Brazilian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (2013).

Trade

In 2018, trade between both nations totaled US$480 million. Brazil's main exports to Hungary include: parts and turbine motores for airplanes; automobile parts; machinery; leather; and coffee. Hungary's main exports to Brazil include: machinery, vehicles and processed products. Brazil is Hungary's second largest trading partner in Latin America (after

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Resident diplomatic missions

;Of Brazil *

(Embassy) ;Of Hungary *

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 ...

(Embassy)Embassy of Hungary in Brasília
/ref> *

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 ...

(Consulate-General) File:Bank Center, Budapest, Lipótváros, Hungary - panoramio (2).jpg, Building hosting the Embassy of Brazil in Budapest

References