Relationship dossier
Brazil
Spain
Relationship assessment
Brazil and Spain maintain a strategic partnership with recurring cooperation and occasional diplomatic friction.
Brazil toward Spain
+35Brazil has participated in the bilateral strategic partnership with Spain since its launch in 2003. During President Lula’s 2023 visit, the Brazilian government joined Spain in issuing a joint declaration and concluding bilateral agreements.
Spain toward Brazil
+35Spain has participated in the strategic partnership with Brazil since 2003. The Spanish government hosted President Lula in 2023 and joined Brazil in issuing a joint declaration and concluding bilateral agreements.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship is underpinned by a long-running strategic partnership and renewed high-level cooperation, including agreements reached in 2023. A 2008 dispute over Spanish border controls affecting Brazilian travelers illustrates that the relationship has also experienced diplomatic friction.
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 and Spain maintain a substantive bilateral partnership, including a strategic partnership launched in 2003 and renewed high-level engagement. The governments have cooperated through bilateral agreements and joint declarations, including agreements concluded during President Lula’s 2023 visit to Spain. Relations have also faced friction over the treatment of Brazilian travelers at Spanish borders in 2008.
Areas of tension
- In 2008, Brazilian travelers were denied entry to Spain, prompting diplomatic tensions over border-control and traveler-treatment practices.
Key developments
Brazil and Spain launched a strategic partnership, establishing a framework for bilateral cooperation.
During President Lula’s visit to Spain, the governments issued a joint declaration and concluded bilateral agreements.
Major uncertainties
- The implementation and present scope of bilateral cooperation agreements are unclear.
- The extent to which the 2008 border-entry dispute affected longer-term cooperation is unclear.