Independence and consolidation Argentina and Brazil share the
Río de la Plata basin– an area where Portuguese and Spanish
conquistadors collided in their ambition to conquer new land for their respective crowns. After achieving independence from the
Iberian crowns in the early nineteenth century, the Argentine Republic and the
Brazilian Empire inherited a series of unresolved territorial disputes from their colonial powers, involving
Paraguay and
Uruguay, the other two nations of the Río de la Plata basin. . It was during this time that the
Cisplatine War, the first armed conflict between both countries, started. From 1825 to 1828 the forces of the
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata outfought those of the Brazilian Empire, until the signing of the
Treaty of Montevideo that gave independence to Uruguay from both countries. Given the high cost of the war for both sides and the burdens it imposed on trade between the United Provinces and the United Kingdom, the latter pressed the two belligerent parties to engage in peace negotiations in Rio de Janeiro. Under British and French mediation, the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil signed the 1828 Treaty of Montevideo, which acknowledged the independence of the Cisplatine Province under the name Eastern Republic of Uruguay. Troops of both countries would face each other once again later, during the
Platine War, when a coalition of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentine rebels managed to defeat Rosas (helped in turn by Uruguayan rebels led by
Manuel Oribe). Another war almost happened during the 1870s when Brazil refused to accept Argentina's desire to take all the Chaco region for itself after the end of the
Paraguayan War (also known as the War of the Triple Alliance) when both countries were allies against Paraguay. Brazil did not settle disputes with Argentina over its precise national boundaries until the early twentieth century. It had settled with Uruguay in 1851, with Peru in 1851 and 1874, with Colombia in 1853, with Venezuela in 1859, with Bolivia in 1867 and with Paraguay in 1872, but not with Argentina, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname. However, it had consolidated most of its vast territory under a single authority by the middle of the nineteenth century, achieved as the result of the work of the empire's political elite. In contrast, the Argentine Republic's nineteenth century experience was marked by infighting between contending factions—those favoring a
federalist republic—struggling against the strong centralist tendencies of the city of
Buenos Aires (
Unitarians). Argentina's unification and territorial consolidation under a single authority was completed by the 1880s.
Consolidated states Despite this inheritance of unresolved territorial disputes and numerous periods of muted hostility, the Argentine–Brazilian relationship was not defined by open hostility for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There was competition on many levels, and their respective defense policies reflected mutual suspicion, but their
bilateral relationship was not adversarial. After the mid-1850s, neither country resorted to coercion or the use of force to resolve territorial disputes, and during the only general war that took place in the Plata region– the
Paraguayan War (1864–1870)– Argentina and Brazil were allied against Paraguay. Nonetheless, at later part of 19th century, concerns from Argentina over Brazil's possible imperialistic ambition remained, as well as Brazil's close commercial tie with Chile, the rival of Argentina. Fear from possible Brazilian intervention in support for Chile amidst the
War of the Pacific had led to Argentina maintaining status quo with Brazil.
Twentieth Century , Brazil, March 1907. In Brazil, the liberal revolution of 1930 overthrew the oligarchic coffee plantation owners and brought to power an urban middle class and business interests that promoted industrialization and modernization. Aggressive promotion of new industry turned around the economy by 1933. Brazil's leaders in the 1920s and 1930s decided that Argentina's implicit foreign policy goal was to isolate Portuguese-speaking Brazil from Spanish-speaking neighbors, thus facilitating the expansion of Argentine economic and political influence in South America. Even worse, was the fear that a more powerful Argentine Army would launch a surprise attack on the weaker Brazilian Army. To counter this threat, President
Getúlio Vargas forged closer links with the United States. Meanwhile, Argentina moved in the opposite direction. During World War II, Brazil was a staunch ally of the United States and sent its military to Europe. The United States provided over $100 million in
Lend-Lease grants, in return for free rent on air bases used to transport American soldiers and supplies across the Atlantic, and naval bases for anti-submarine operations. In sharp contrast, Argentina was officially neutral and at times favored Germany. Communication and physical integration between the two neighbors was limited. The benefits of developing closer economic, political, and cultural relations were not considered until late in the 20th century. Since 1945, the most acrimonious bilateral dispute concerned the control of water resources along the
Alto Paraná basin. In 1966, Brazil and Paraguay concluded the
Iguaçu Act, announcing their intention to build a Brazilian–Paraguayan
hydroelectric plant,
Itaipú dam, on the Paraná River, on the Argentina–Brazil–Paraguay border. The
Treaty of Itaipú was signed in
Brasília in 1973. However, Buenos Aires feared that Brazil's project would hinder its own plans for the water resources development in the area. For almost a decade, the dispute soured bilateral relations and hampered efforts to forge closer economic and political links. The dispute over water resources was finally resolved by intense diplomatic negotiations. In October 1979, the Itaipú–Corpus Multilateral Treaty on Technical Cooperation was concluded, ending the dispute to the satisfaction of all three neighbors and opening the way for a dramatic improvement in relations. After the conclusion of the Itaipu–Corpus Treaty, Brazilian president
João Figueiredo visited Argentina, the first Brazilian leader to do so in more than four decades. Figueiredo, the last president of the military rulers who had governed Brazil for 21 years, visited Buenos Aires in May 1980 and signed, among other agreements, a series of accords to collaborate on
nuclear issues. Reflecting their shared opposition to the
nuclear non-proliferation regime, Argentina and Brazil agreed to co-operate and exchange technical information, materials, and products on all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. Following the resolution of the water resources dispute and the Brazilian president's successful visit, an unexpected and traumatic event took place in Argentina that further improved bilateral relations: the 1982
Falklands War.
Falklands War Three years after calling off the
Operation Soberanía to invade the
Picton, Nueva and Lennox islands, Argentina invaded the
Falkland Islands () in April 1982, starting a brief but important war with the United Kingdom. Brazil supported the Argentine claim over the Falkland Islands: However, when an RAF Vulcan Bomber was forced to land in
Rio de Janeiro after attacking Stanley Airport, the Brazilian government refused to hand over crew as prisoners of war to Argentina and instead released them after a brief period of internment. After hostilities ended in June 1982, Buenos Aires chose Brazil to
represent its interests in London until full
diplomatic relations with United Kingdom were restored in 1990. Thus, despite rivalry and historical suspicions, Brazil's actions and policies during the most traumatic period of Argentina's recent history—objectionable military rule, near-conflict with Chile and the Falklands War—were fundamental to build trust between the two countries. Argentina's defeat in the war against Britain hastened the end of its domestic military rule. General elections were held in October 1983, and President
Raul Alfonsín was elected with a mandate to ensure that Argentina's recent past was not repeated. Among his main achievements, President Alfonsín started to resolve the enduring territorial conflict with Chile during his six-year term, and significantly improved relations with Brazil. Argentina's intention to forge a closer relationship with Brazil was matched by Brazil's intention to do the same. While still under
military rule, Brazil initiated a policy of improving relations with its South American neighbors, and Argentina was considered the key country in this effort. The initiative was accelerated after 1985 when
José Sarney, became the first civilian president of Brazil since 1964. Soon after taking power, President Sarney met with President Alfonsín, and thereafter a series of diplomatic initiatives and presidential visits took place. The aim of these exchanges was to deepen the process of cultural, political, and economic rapprochement between Argentina and Brazil.
Return of democracy and deep integration (1985-2005) After democratization, a strong integration and partnership began between the two countries. In 1985, they signed the basis for the
Mercosur, a regional
trade agreement. In the field of science, the two regional giants had been rivals since the 1950s when both governments launched parallel nuclear and space programs, however, several agreements were signed since then such as the creation of the
Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC) to verify both countries' pledges to use nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes. Also on the military side there has been greater rapprochement. In accordance with the friendship policy, both armies dissolved or moved major units previously located at their common border (e.g.
Argentine's 7th Jungle and 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigades). Brazilian soldiers are embedded in the Argentine
peacekeeping contingent at
UNFICYP in Cyprus and they are working together at
MINUSTAH in Haiti and, as another example of collaboration,
Argentine Navy aircraft routinely operates from the
Brazilian Navy carrier
NAe São Paulo.
Pink tide (2005–2015) and
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2011 The
Néstor Kirchner administration continued placing Brazil as a foreign policy priority and relations with Brazil were considered strategic. This was met with reciprocity in Brazil, as President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva placed Argentina as the main priority of his foreign policy. From the Brazilian perspective, only with this
strategic alliance would it be possible to transform South America into a
world power bloc, one of the goals of Lula da Silva's foreign policy. Since 2003, Argentina and Brazil have coordinated their positions in the
multilateral fora, as can be seen by their joint participation in the agricultural negotiations at the
WTO meeting in
Cancún, their joint position in regards to the creation of the
Free Trade Area of the Americas, and their articulation at the
G-20 to reform the
international financial system. In the economic arena, Argentina and Brazil dropped the
U.S. dollar and started using their own currencies on all bilateral commercial transactions in 2008. On 6 September 2008, the President of Argentina,
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, traveled to Brazil to consolidate relations between the two countries. She was the guest of honor at the Independence Day celebrations that took place on 7 September 2008 and witnessed the military parade in
Brasília. The following day, she held discussions with President Lula on a variety of bilateral issues including energy, defense and nuclear cooperation. On 28 October 2010, president Lula da Silva traveled to Buenos Aires to give his condolences for
Néstor Kirchner's death. The Brazilian Government declared three days of national mourning. President
Dilma Rousseff chose Argentina as the first foreign trip of her presidency, in a demonstration of the "special and strategic" ties between the two countries. During her state visit to Buenos Aires on 31 January 2011, Rousseff stated that "it was not a casual decision to pick Argentina as my first foreign destination" and praised Argentina as a "strategic ally" to her country. "The Brazilian government assumes, once again, a true commitment with the Argentine government as well as a joint policy intended to promote a development strategy for the region. For me the main idea is that of a strategic relationship with Argentina, which should shine itself in all areas of interest of both countries", said Rousseff in conversations with local newspapers before arriving in Buenos Aires. In those years, the strategic relationship between Argentina and Brazil was considered to be "at the highest point in history". Argentine foreign policy has given special emphasis in "deepening the
strategic alliance with Brazil in all its aspects". Likewise, Argentina has been "an absolute priority" for Brazilian
foreign policy.
Mercosur-EU Agreement (2015-2019) During Mauricio Macri's administration in Argentina and Jair Bolsonaro's administrations in Brasil, the countries reached in principle the basis for the
Mercosur-EU Free Trade Agreement which had been developing for twenty years.
Strained relations (2019–2022) with Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff in 2015. The victory of Macri in 2015 and the impeachment of Rousseff in 2016 pave the way to the Conservative Wave in late 2010s Relations between Brazil and Argentina grew hostile due to deep ideological differences between the Brazilian right-wing president,
Jair Bolsonaro, and the left-wing
Alberto Fernández-
Cristina Kirchner administration, mainly due to the Brazilian ruler's rejection of his Argentinian counterparts. Proof of the difficult relationship was shown during the
2019 Argentine general election, in which Bolsonaro showed all his support for his right-wing ally
Mauricio Macri. Macri's re-election campaign resulted in his defeat, mostly by popular anger for his austere policies and ineffective presidency. Initially, Bolsonaro announced that he would not appear at the inauguration of Fernández nor would he send a Brazilian representative. It showed the turbulent relationship between the two South American powers, where for the first time in 23 years there would be no Brazilian representation in the assumption of their main commercial ally, putting at risk the continuity of the organization of
Mercosur, already almost non-existent due to the suspension of Venezuela during
Maduro's dictatorship. Days later, he decided to send Brazilian vice-president,
Hamilton Mourão as representative. Another cause of discussion between each presidents are the relations between their sons; Fernandez's son is known in Argentina as a
drag performer and
cosplayer, with a
progressive stance, while Bolsonaro's sons are
conservative and
homophobic. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, Bolsonaro is frequently questioned for his handling of the situation and his management of the country's health system, and compared to his Argentine counterpart. Bolsonaro has attacked Argentina's handling of COVID-19 and described Argentina as being a country that is "heading towards socialism", comparing it negatively with countries such as
Cuba and
Venezuela, while identifying his own COVID-19 strategy with
Sweden. At the time that Bolsonaro made these comments, Brazil had recorded 66 COVID-19 deaths per 1 million inhabitants, more than seven times Argentina's rate of 8 recorded COVID-19 deaths per 1 million inhabitants and Cuba's rate of 7 recorded COVID-19 deaths per 1 million inhabitants. In July 2020, the Mercosur summit began via videoconference, where the coldness of both presidents was shown; they did not speak each other and
Férnandez made an indirect attack addressing Bolsonaro. The main reason that produces constant clashes between both countries is the continuous intrusion of Bolsonaro and his sons in Argentina's internal affairs, either haranguing against the
policies of President Fernández or fueling differences between the two countries, such as economic, political, social and sports matters; and the diplomatic apathy of Argentina, who is showing reluctant in cooperating or improving relations.
Improving relations (2023–present) Relations began improving following Brazil's election of Lula in its
2022 general election. Lula took his first international visit to Argentina. In January 2023, Lula and Fernández announced plans for greater economic integration, including preliminary talks regarding the development of a common currency. ==Current issues==