From the Normalization of Relations to Dwindling Interest and Indifference

Abstract

This article offers an overview of the political, economic, and cultural aspects of Hungarian–Mexican relations during the last 15 years of the Cold War. After a more than 30-year interruption, the normalization of diplomatic relations (1974) was made possible by a change in the foreign policy orientation of Mexico, in the context of improving East–West relations, in particular an improvement of US–Hungarian relations. Both sides planned to intensify ties, and signed various documents to this end, but the early impetus soon deflated. This investigation explores the development of the bilateral nexus and the complex reasons behind its low intensity, related to the asymmetries between the two countries as well as to the differences between their foreign policy objectives and possibilities of maneuver.