 | |
 Argentina |  Spain |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Argentina, Madrid | Embassy of Spain, Buenos Aires |
Argentina–Spain relations are thebilateral relations between theArgentine Republic and theKingdom of Spain. Since a great portion of the immigrants to Argentina before the mid-19th century were of Spanish descent, the large majority of Argentines are at least partly of Spanish ancestry. Also, a significant part of the late-19th century/early-20th century immigrants to Argentina were Spaniards. Both nations are members of theOrganization of Ibero-American States and theUnited Nations.
In 1516, the first Spanish expedition to visit what is now Argentina was led by the explorerJuan Díaz de Solís. In 1536, the first Spanish settlement was created in theRío de la Plata basin. In 1776, theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created with the head of government placed inBuenos Aires.
Spain recognized an independent Argentina in 1863, with the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Amity, thus establishing diplomatic relations between the two nations.[1]
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Since obtaining independence from Spain, diplomatic relations between the two nations have been stable. During theSpanish Civil War, Argentina remained neutral and gave asylum to any Spanish citizen requesting it without regards to whether they wereRepublicans orNationalists.[2] At the end of the war, Argentina maintained diplomatic relations with the government of GeneralFrancisco Franco. Maintaining diplomatic relations allowed for the first lady of ArgentinaEva Perón to visit Spain in 1947 and donate five million tons of food to the Spanish people.[3]
After the death of General Franco in Spain in 1975, Argentina entered a period of military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. In 1982, Argentina invaded theFalkland Islands. Spain recognised and supported the claims of Argentine territorial rights over the islands. In 2012, British documents were made declassified and stated that Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher feared that during theFalkland war, Spain would join Argentina by invadingGibraltar.[4] However, as of December 31, 2020,Spain and theUnited Kingdom reached an agreement on the Gibraltar dispute with their Spanish environment.[5]
A dispute arose in 2012, when Argentina sought to nationalize the energy companyYPF, owned by the Spanish multinational companyRepsol. Spain warned against such a move stating that it would harm bilateral relations if such a move were to happen.[6] On 16 April, Argentina's PresidentCristina Fernández de Kirchner announced the nationalization of YPF, to which Spain warned of a "clear and decisive" response.[7] The Argentine government agreed a $5 billion settlement with Repsol over YPF.[8]
In the 2010s an Argentine court accusedAntonio González Pacheco, a former police inspector, of committing criminal acts during the Franco regime. He was sought for extradition by an Argentine judge in 2014.[9]María Romilda Servini had called for the indictment.[10] The request for extradition was refused by theSpanish High Court on the basis that the statute of limitations had run out on the accusation against him.[11]
In 2021, Spain pledged support to Argentina vis-à-vis the latter country's negotiations with theIMF to renegotiate on the mechanisms of their debt, singularly those relating to the payment of the US$45 billion borrowed by the Macri administration from the IMF.[12] In June 2021, Spanish Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez paid a visit to Argentina and met with PresidentAlberto Fernández.[13] In May 2022, Argentine President Alberto Fernández paid a visit to Spain.[14]
Sánchez endorsedKircherist candidateSergio Massa during the2023 Argentine presidential election, which were won byJavier Milei, who departed from the socialist policies of Argentine Peronists and Sanchez.[15] Relations between both presidents have been complicated since then. Spanish ministerÓscar Puente said that Milei "consumes substances" in April 2024, and the next month Milei pointed out the corruption scandals that involve the wife of Sánchez,Begoña Gómez. Sánchez asked for formal apologies, which were denied; Argentine spokesman Manuel Adorni said it was Sánchez who should apologise to Milei instead.[15] When asked if Sánchez would apologize to Milei, Spanish spokesman Patxi López refused to answer.[16] As a consequence of the conflict, Sánchez indefinitely removed Spain's ambassador in Argentina, María Jesús Alonso Jiménez.[17] On the other side, Milei said that he would not break relations between both countries merely because of personal conflicts between rulers.[18]
TheMonument to the Carta Magna and Four Regions of Argentina was donated by theSpanish community in 1910, on the occasion of the centenary of theMay Revolution.[19] Argentina hosts Spanish Cultural Centers inBuenos Aires, inCórdoba and in theParque de España,Rosario.[20] In addition, it also has mixed social and sports institutions, such as the Spanish Club of Rosario or the Hispano-Argentino Regatta Club,[21][22] andSpanish is the common language of both countries.[23]
Since May 2014, the Argentine cartoonistQuino, famous for his comic stripMafalda, received thePrincess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.[24] Later, since May 2017, the Argentine humorous-musical groupLes Luthiers was also awarded.[25]
Tango andflamenco are two Latin dance genres, recognized asintangible cultural heritage, being emblems ofArgentine andSpanish culture respectively. Likewise, they have become popular among the societies of both countries with the exchange of music and dance artists.[26][27]
In February 2020, atwinning tourist guide was established that unites the city ofCórdoba in Spain with the counterpartCórdoba in Argentina, trying to take advantage of the aspects that both cities share and that transcend beyond the common name that identifies them, covering linguistic points and cultural.[28]
Since June 2022, the twinning of the paths of theCura Brochero inCórdoba (Argentina) with that ofSantiago de Compostela inGalicia (Spain) began. The agreement will have as its main objective to promote the exchange of knowledge onChristian pilgrimages between both communities.[29]
In January 2023, Argentina sought at FITUR to capitalize its historic relationship with Spain for tourism, forged, among other things, by the family ties that unite both countries.[30] Subsequently, the signing of a twinning and cooperation agreement between the municipalities ofSalta (Argentina) andHuelva (Spain) was established. The agreement was made with the aim of promoting the economic and social development of both regions throughtourism,production,culture, andgastronomy.[31] Likewise, in May of the same year, Salta was also twinned with the municipality ofHuesca (Spain), since thegauchos pay homage to the same patron of the Fiestas deSan Lorenzo.[32]
Over the years, both nations have signed numerous bilateral agreements such as an Air Transportation Agreement (1947); Agreement on the Elimination of Visas (1947); Agreement on Migration (1960); Agreement on Cultural Cooperation (1971); Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation (1972); Agreement on Economic Cooperation (1974); Extradition Treaty (1987); Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments (1991); Agreement on mutual recognition of Drivers License (2002); Agreement on the Avoidance of Double-Taxation (2013)[1] and an Agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation in innovation and technological development (2022).[33]
There are direct flights between Argentina and Spain through the following airlines:Aerolíneas Argentinas,Air Europa,Iberia andLevel.
In 2017, trade between Argentina and Spain totaled €2.7 billion Euros.[34] Argentina's main exports to Spain include: animal based products, frozen fish, crustaceans and sea mussels, copper and organic chemicals. Spain's exports to Argentina include: automobile components and equipment, electrical material and pharmaceuticals.[34] Spanish multinational companies suchBanco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria,Banco Santander,Mapfre,Telefónica andZara operate in Argentina.
Spain is the second largest investor in Argentina after the United States, totalling to more than €9.8 million Euros in 2018.[35]
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