Relationship dossier
Brazil
Nicaragua
Relationship assessment
A diplomatic rupture in 2024 followed disputes over Nicaragua’s government and political repression.
Brazil toward Nicaragua
-35Brazil expelled Nicaragua’s ambassador in 2024 after Nicaragua expelled Brazil’s ambassador, amid a dispute over Nicaragua’s government and its political conduct.
Nicaragua toward Brazil
-45Nicaragua expelled Brazil’s ambassador in 2024 and later severed diplomatic relations with Brazil, amid a dispute over the Brazilian government’s criticism and diplomatic conduct.
Overall relationship
-40The relationship is marked by a major diplomatic rupture in 2024, including reciprocal ambassador expulsions and Nicaragua’s severing of diplomatic relations. Disputes over Nicaragua’s political conduct have outweighed the limited information available about earlier cooperation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Brazil-Nicaragua relations have been sharply strained by disputes over Nicaragua’s political repression and the conduct of its government. In 2024, Nicaragua expelled Brazil’s ambassador and later severed diplomatic relations; Brazil responded by expelling Nicaragua’s ambassador. These actions mark a significant deterioration, though the extent of earlier bilateral cooperation is unclear.
Areas of tension
- Disagreements over Nicaragua’s political repression and government conduct
- Nicaragua’s expulsion of Brazil’s ambassador and subsequent severing of diplomatic relations
- Brazil’s expulsion of Nicaragua’s ambassador in response
Key developments
Nicaragua expelled Brazil’s ambassador amid a dispute over diplomatic conduct and criticism of Nicaragua’s government.
Brazil expelled Nicaragua’s ambassador in response to the expulsion of its own ambassador.
Nicaragua severed diplomatic relations with Brazil.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and durability of bilateral cooperation before the 2024 diplomatic rupture are unclear.
- The diplomatic and practical effects of the severing of relations are uncertain.