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1.-INTRODUCTION
This article analyzes the political, economic, and cultural ties between Mexico and Hungary. Although the two countries are geographically distant ones, there is a long history of bilateral relations between them.
The paper gives an overview on the evolution of the diplomatic and political ties with particular emphasis on the last decades. We take stock of the trade and capital flows between the two countries. We also highlight the most important pillars and milestones of cultural and scientific cooperation. The main research question of this paper is which international relations theory best describe the relationship of Mexico and Hungary.
The structure of this article is as follows: first, we give a brief overview on the theoretical framework of international relations, with focus on bilateral relationships. Then, we present the methodology and the datasets. This is followed by the results of the analysis. This section includes a historical overview on the Mexican-Hungarian relationship, as well as two subsections on the economic and cultural-scientific ties. Finally, we conclude the theory which best explains the relations between Mexico and Hungary is globalization.
2. THEORICAL FRAMEWORK
Theoretical frameworks are developed to examine the research problem, to define the hypotheses and research questions, to select the appropriate dataset and methodology to be used, to carry out the calculations, to interpret the data, and eventually to answer the research questions. There is a huge selection of theories in the field of International Relations that can be used to examine the states’ behavior, their relationships and interrelatedness (Paulsen, 2016 and McGlinchey; Walters and Scheinpflug 2017). Possible theories for analyzing bilateral relationship (among others) are the securitization theory, realism, absolute gains and relative gains theory, dependency/interdependency theory and globalization.
The securitization theory by Buzan et al. (1998) states that the way to comprehend securitization is through observing its process, which is called the securitizing process. During this “the issue is presented as an existential threat, requiring emergency measures and justifying actions outside the normal bounds of political procedure” and a successful securitization only happens when the public accepts the securitizing move (Buzan et al., 1998, p.23). Buzan argues that securitization theory focuses on how security threats are politically and socially constructed, rather than on what kinds of security threats objectively exist (Floyd, 2011).
Realism (originated from Machiavelli) has been considered the dominating theory in international relations (comprehensively theorized by Morgenthau, 1948) because of its competence in explaining the war and the international system (Dunne and Schmidt, 2011). In response to the early critics against realism, Waltz (1979) came up with new perspectives and approaches to realism (Lamy, 2011). He argues that the international system is naturally in a structural manner where there is a distribution of power among states.
The absolute gains and relative gains theory can be considered as a debate between two contemporary theories: neo-liberal institutionalism and neo-realism. The debate is about the absolute or relative gains, a state should achieve in a cooperation (Grieco, 1988). Powell (1991, p.1303) summarizes the problem of absolute and relative gains as “the former assumes states focus primarily on their absolute gains and emphasizes the prospects for cooperation. The latter supposes states are largely concerned with relative gains and emphasizes the prospects for conflict” (Genest, 1996)
The dependency theory originates from Hans Singer (1950) and Raul Prebisch (1950). Both academics observed that the terms of trade for underdeveloped countries relative to the developed ones had deteriorated overtime because of the exploitative nature of the relationship between the two parties. However Prebish’s developmentalism had a functionalist underpinning, while Singer was influential on Neo-Marxist development theorists. The Prebisch-Singer hypothesis is the key to the dependency theory, which states that poor states are impoverished and rich ones enriched by the way poor states are being integrated into the world system (Prebisch, 1950; Singer, 1950).
According to the complex interdependence theory, interdependence means that changes or events in any single part of a system will produce some reaction from, or have some significant consequence for, other actors in a system, whether they like it or not (Russet and Starr 1992: 439). “Dependence means a state of being determined or significantly affected by external forces. Interdependence, most simply defined, means mutual dependence. Interdependence in world politics refers to situations characterized by reciprocal effects among countries or among actors in different countries.” (Keohane and Nye, 1977, p.8) However, unlike the traditional power politics, in ‘Complex Interdependence’ this may not be the zero-sum game. “The politics of economic and ecological interdependence involve competition even when large net benefits can be expected from cooperation.” (Keohane and Nye, 1977:10) Keohane and Nye (1987) are of the view that the need for interdependence could be reached in the need to achieve everything that cannot be realized in isolation (cited by Amusan and van Wyk, 2011). They have tried hard to establish that international relations are characterized by cooperation and interdependence with win-win, mutually benefiting outcomes (Agubamah, 2014).
The last theory, we explain is globalization, which has a huge literature. Clark (1998) argues that “globalization is more significant for its erosion of the internal / external divide than for its erosion of state capacity and questions the idea of a national economy” (among other things). According to one definition, globalization “refers broadly to the process whereby power is located in global social formations and expressed through global networks rather than through territorially-based state and globalization”, (Thomas, 1997). We will argue in our paper that this is the theory of International Relations (IR), which explains best the relations between Mexico and Hungary.
3. METHODOLOGY, SAMPLE PERIOD AND DATA USED
To analyze bilateral relations between two countries we need to apply a multidisciplinary approach, which emphasizes the merits of employing case study, quantitative analysis, and formal methods in IR research as well as the trade-offs involved in using each method. The main research question of this paper is which international relations theory could best describe the changes of relationship of Mexico and Hungary.
Theoretical arguments must be augmented with systematic methods of testing that help guard against chance and selection bias. Besides formal models, it is mainly case study research that can generate new hypotheses to advance theory building. Both case studies and quantitative methods are often used to test propositions (Sprinz and Wolinsky-Nahmias, 2004).
There are three phases in the design and implementation of theory-oriented case studies. In phase one, the objectives, design, and structure of the research are formulated. In phase two, each case study is carried out in accordance with the design. In phase three, the researcher draws upon the findings of the case studies and assesses their contribution to achieve the research objectives of the study. These three phases are interdependent, and some iteration is often necessary to ensure that each phase is consistent and integrated with the other phases (George and Bennett, 2005) (George and Smoke, 1974).
To implement our research about the bilateral relations between Mexico and Hungary, we considered three primary data collection methods: observation, interview, and questionnaire.1 Observation and interviews are conducted with small samples and should refer to processes or questions that the researcher would like to have a deeper understanding of (Saunders et al.,2016). The present paper uses primary databases (eg. trade and Foreign Direct Investment data from 2020), news from Mexican and Hungarian national news agencies and expert interviews.
The research project Latin America and Hungary started with a deep analysis of the bilateral relationships between Brazil and Hungary (Nagy, 2021). We applied a similar methodology in the current paper for the Mexican-Hungarian bilateral relationships.
4. RESULTS
Historical overview of the diplomatic relationship
Early times
The first contact between the two nations dates to early years of the 19th century, when Vilmos Dupaix (also known as Guillermo Dupaix) arrived in Mexico. Dupaix was born in Hungary to a French family. He was admitted to the Spanish royal Court, where he received a mandate from Charles IV., the Spanish king to explore Tehuantepec and the Yucatán Peninsula for the ancient treasures of New Spain. Dupaix, contrary to contemporary scientific ideas, was one of the first people to suggest the existence of advanced civilizations in New Spain. The experiences of his three years in Mexico - 1805-1807 - have been summarized in a book published after his death, titled "Atlas of Mexican antiquities” (Torbágyi, 2007).
The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy set up its diplomatic relation with Mexico in 1842 and opened representation in Mexico in 1864. (Austrian Embassy in Mexico City, 2020) This move was due to the fact, that Habsburg Maximilian, the Austrian archduke started his reign of Mexico as the Emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 (Vogel, 2010). The same year the Archduke has appointed Tomás Murphy de Alegría as Extraordinary Envoy of Mexico to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, completing his mission on 13 October 1865.
After the successful revolution led by Benito Juárez, Maximiliano was executed on 19 June 1867, and with this move the diplomatic relations between the Monarchy and Mexico had been abolished only to be restored on a consular level in 1901 (Austrian Embassy in Mexico City, 2020), when both countries have started to open consulates in each other’s capitals. After the First World War, in 1925 Mexico accredited its representation in Rome, Italy to represent Mexico in Budapest, Hungary as well. Hungary and Mexico established full diplomatic relations on the 13 January 1926.
Diplomatic relations were suspended in 1941 (due to the entrance of Hungary into the Second World War at Germany’s side) - for more than 30 years - to be restored on 14 May 1974 when the Hungarian People’s Republic opened its embassy in Mexico City. Two years after, on 30 September 1976, the Mexican Embassy was inaugurated in Budapest. The first official visit took place in November 1977 when Pál Losonczi, Head of the Presidential Council of the Republic visited Mexico (Hungarian Embassy in Mexico City, 2020a).
After The Fall Of The Iron Curtain
In April 1990, within the framework of the first meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the Rio Group and Eastern Europe, the Foreign Minister of Mexico Fernando Solana made an official visit to Hungary. Equally significant were the visits to Mexico of Ferenc Somogyi Secretary of State of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry in October 1991 and of Géza Jeszenszky the Minister of Foreign Affairs in March 1992, as part of a series of official visits in Latin America. In July 1992, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari made the first state visit of a Mexican president to Hungary. On 14 and 15 April 1997, Hungarian President Árpád Göncz made an official visit to Mexico, within the framework of official visits in several Latin American countries that included Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. During these visits he was accompanied by a group of important businessmen and representatives of the Hungarian media. On that occasion, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León the President of Mexico and the President of Hungary reiterated their desire to strengthen political dialogue at all levels and promote cooperation in all areas. President Ernesto Zedillo awarded President Árpád Göncz with the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle and the Hungarian President conferred on the President of Mexico the Decoration of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. In July 1998, Rosario Green, then Secretary of Foreign Relations in Mexico, paid an official visit to Hungary. In 2001, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán - in his first term as Prime Minister - visited Mexico on the Meeting of the Leaders of the Christian Democratic Parties (Mexican Embassy in Budapest, 2020).
After Hungary’s accession to the European Union (EU)
Between 12 and 14 May 2004, Vicente Fox Quesada the President of Mexico made an official visit to Hungary. The visit took place after a historic moment when Hungary joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. Also, this visit marked the 30th anniversary of the reopening of the Mexican-Hungarian diplomatic relations (Mexican Embassy in Budapest, 2020).
During that visit, the two governments signed a Tourism Cooperation Agreement as a closing document of the 4th Meeting of the Mexican-Hungarian Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation. Also, the visit facilitated the full use of the Mexico-EU Global Agreement and encouraged the active participation of Péter Medgyessy the Hungarian Prime Minister in the European Union-Latin-America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
In 2005 in Budapest Lourdes Aranda Bezauri Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and András Bársony, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary co-chaired the 5th High-level Political Meeting between Mexico and Hungary. Mr Berauri was also the co-chair of the 7th High-level Political Meeting in 2010 (Mexican Embassy in Budapest, 2020).
High-level political visits in recent years
On the 60th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian revolution, László Kövér the President of the National Assembly of Hungary visited Mexico on 23 October 2017. During the visit he unveiled the statue of Pál Kepenyes a Hungarian-born Mexican sculptor who was a victim of the 1956 revolution. (MTI, 2017, MTI, 2019) Kövér also met Pablo Escudero Morales, President of the Senate of Mexico and Javier Bolanos, President of the Chamber of Deputies. He participated in the kick-off meeting of the Mexican-Hungarian section of the Chamber and gave a keynote speech at the Senate on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Mexico (Hungarian Embassy in Mexico City, 2020b).
In April 2019, Péter Szíjjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, visited Mexico. He met Graciela Márquez Colin, Minister of Economy and signed an agreement with Alejandra Fausto Minister of Culture about the renovation of two catholic churches in Mexico using Hungarian government donations of around 8 Million USD. These two churches - one of them being the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the State of Mexico - suffered damages during the 2017 earthquakes. Szíjjártó’s visit was part of the “Opening to the South” policy of the Hungarian government launched in 2015, with the aim to intensify economic and political relationships with African and Latin American countries (Table 1). Apart from the fact that Mexico is the leading economic partner for Hungary in the Latin American region, Mexico is also an important ally to Hungary in its aim to aid persecuted Christians in the world (Hirtv, 2019).
Table 1: Key milestones of the Mexican-Hungarian diplomatic relationship
| Event | Year |
| Tomás Murphy de Alegría appointed as Extraordinary Envoy of Mexico to the Austro-Hungarian Empire | 1864 |
| Restoring diplomatic relation between Mexico and the Monarchy on a consular level | 1901 |
| Hungary and Mexico established full diplomatic relations | 1926 |
| Suspension of diplomatic relations (due to the Second World War) | 1941 |
| Reopening of full diplomatic relations | 1974 |
| Fernando Solana visits Hungary | 1990 |
| Géza Jeszenszky visits Mexico | 1992 |
| Árpád Göncz visits Mexico | 1997 |
| Visa-free Agreement | 1997 |
| Convention on Educational and Cultural Cooperation | 1998 |
| Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Mexico | 2000 |
| Vicente Fox visits Hungary | 2004 |
| Tourism Cooperation Agreement | 2004 |
| Economic Cooperation Agreement | 2007 |
| Agreement on double taxation | 2012 |
| Establishment of the Mexican-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce | 2013 |
| Scientific and Technological Agreement | 2014 |
| Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme launched in Mexico | 2015 |
| László Kövér visits Mexico | 2017 |
| Péter Szíjjártó visits Mexico | 2019 |
| New Trade Agreement between Mexico and the EU | 2020 |
Source: Author’s own research (2020).
In February 2020 István Nagy, Minister of Agriculture in Hungary visited Mexico and met his Mexican counterpart Víctor Villalobos Arámbula responsible for agriculture and rural development. The ministers signed a memorandum of understanding expressing the willingness of both countries to cooperate in the domain of agriculture, animal husbandry, rural development, fisheries, and aquaculture. They also agreed to promote sustainable agricultural practices in their countries to combat climate change (Government of Hungary, 2020).
Economic relations between Mexico and Hungary
General overview
During his visit in Mexico in 2019, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szíjjártó emphasized that Mexico is Hungary’s number one trading partner in the Latin American region. The annual value of bilateral trade in 2018 was more than 1 Billion USD, out of which the Hungarian export to Mexico reached almost 900 million USD. Mexico has the second biggest economy in Latin America after Brazil. Mexico imports a significant volume of spare parts in the automotive industry, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment as well as irrigation technology. These four sectors provide Hungarian companies with the opportunity to enter the Mexican market. To facilitate the market entry of Hungarian companies, the Hungarian government opened a 620 Million USD credit line via the state owned Eximbank (Nagy, 2018, Nagy, 2021 and Hírtv, 2019).
Trade relations
The general legal framework and conditions of Hungarian-Mexican trade are largely determined by the Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement (Global Agreement), which was signed in 1997 (Szente-Varga, 2009). It contained a political cooperation component as well as a free trade agreement. This latter one entered into force in July 2000 for industrial and agricultural products and in March 2011 for services, intellectual property, and investments. The agreement completely liberalized the entry of the Mexican products to the EU by 2003, while the Mexican market opened to EU products by 2007 (Government of Mexico, 2018).
Mexico is also an important partner for the European Union geo-strategically as it is the bridge between the North American continent’s developed countries and the emerging markets of the South. Apart from the local potential in Mexico - more than 120 Million inhabitants in the domestic market - Mexico provides access to the markets of other countries through free trade agreements in the broader region, including Chile, Colombia, and Peru. (Solti, 2014)
In April 2020, the negotiations of a new trade agreement between Mexico and the European Union have been concluded. Under the new EU-Mexico agreement, practically all trade in goods between the EU and Mexico will be duty-free. The agreement also now includes progressive rules on sustainable development, such as a commitment to effectively implement the Paris Climate Agreement. It is also the first time that the EU agrees with a Latin American country on issues concerning investment protection. Simpler customs procedures will further help boost exports both ways. Today Mexico is the EU's number one trade partner in Latin America with bilateral trade in goods worth €66 billion and trade in services worth another €19 billion (2019 and 2018 data). EU goods exports exceed €39 billion a year. EU-Mexico trade in goods has more than tripled since the entry into force of the original agreement in 2001. The modernised trade agreement will help boost this strong historical growth even further (European Commission, 2020).
In recent years, Mexico has been the number one trading partner of Hungary in Latin America, becoming the 30th biggest trading partner of the country overall. Regarding the Mexican export to the European Union, Hungary is the 10th most important partner of the Latin American country. Since 2004, the year of Hungary’s EU accession, total trade between Mexico and Hungary has increased by more than 600%. As for the structure of the trade, machinery, equipment, vehicles and chemicals are the main products that are exchanged. Most of the trade is the internal flow of goods of multinational companies. For the future, both countries are planning to encourage trade between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Solti, 2014).
Hungary signed an economic cooperation agreement with Mexico in 2007 and the first Joint Economic Committee meeting took place in February 2011 in Budapest. The Mexican-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce was established in late 2013 with the aim to boost the trade and investment relations between the two countries. (Mexican Embassy in Budapest, 2013) The most important objectives of the chamber are to ensure the two-way flow of information, to organize economic conferences as well as to represent the views of the membership towards decision-makers (Solti, 2014).
The founders of the Chamber include Nemak Ltd., member of the Mexican ALFA group and representative of other prestigious companies. The Honorary President of the Chamber is the Mexican Ambassador to Hungary.
Regarding the export-import numbers between Mexico and Hungary, we can see on Graph 1. that the total value of the Hungarian Export to Mexico increased from around 200 million USD to 800 million USD between 2010 and 2017. The most important export products are machinery and equipment, followed by vehicles and transport equipment. The export value of machinery and equipment increased from around 180 million USD in 2010 to more than 600 million USD in 2017.
Regarding the Hungarian import from Mexico, data show that machinery and equipment have the highest share in the total value of import. There was a strong setback in the total value of import from year 2013 to 2014, which was the result of the 600 million USD fall in mobile-phone trade caused most likely by the closure of the Nokia factory in Komárom (Hungary), which traded spare parts with the Nokia factory in Reynosa (Mexico) (Éltető, 2014 and interview with Ex. Medveczky). The following graphic number 2 shows the above information in detail:
Based on Graph 1. And Graph 2. we can conclude that until 2013, Hungary had a negative trade balance (more import than export) with Mexico. Since then, the trade balance is positive from a Hungarian perspective.
Foreign Direct Investment Flows
FDI flows show a very unbalanced picture between the two countries.
Graph 3. shows that the inward FDI (IFDI) from Mexico to Hungary has increased significantly since 2008. The value of inward FDI from Mexico has stabilized at around 1.500 million US Dollar. Hungary received significantly more FDI from Mexico since 2008 compared to the Hungarian outward FDI, which could be considered poor.
According to the data of the Mexican Embassy to Hungary, only 33 Hungarian companies made investments in Mexico between the period of 1999 and 2013 in the total value of 2.5 million USD. It is important to note that in the same period, companies from the Czech Republic had ten times more investments in Mexico. Mexican investments in Hungary include companies in the IT sector (Neoris), catering industry (Tacos Locos), health industry, construction industry (CEMEX, which withdrew from the Hungarian market in 2015). Nevertheless, the most important Mexican company in Hungary is Nemak, member of ALFA Group. The company has been in Hungary for more than 20 years. The company produces aluminium cylinder heads for cars and has more than 900 employees (Solti, 2014).
Cultural and scientific ties between Mexico and Hungary
There have been good cultural and scientific relations between Mexico and Hungary for decades. In 1998 the two countries signed a Convention on Educational and Cultural Cooperation. Based on this agreement, the two parties elaborate work plans to achieve its objectives. Today, approximately six Hungarian universities have formal relationships with Mexican partner universities, including the University of Szeged, Department of Hispanics, the University of Pécs, Ibero-American Center, Corvinus University of Budapest, and the Technical University of Budapest Graph 4. The National Research, Development and Innovation Office in Hungary signed a scientific and technological agreement with Mexican CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología) in 2014. Regarding student exchanges, Mexico is the second most important partner of Hungary in the Latin American region after Brazil (Solti, 2014).
Source: Higher Education Information System (FIR), cited by Nagy (2021)
Graph 4: Number of Latin American students in Hungary (2019/20).
Most of the Mexican students went to Hungary with the support of the Stipendium Hungaricum program (Graph 5). The data show the gradual expansion of the program in Mexico and the increasing number of Mexican students involved (TPF, 2020).
Famous Hungarians in Mexico - famous Mexicans with Hungarian origin
There are several famous Mexican people with Hungarian origin or famous Hungarians who used to live in Mexico. In the 19th century, former soldiers of the Hungarian army emigrated to Latin America, including Mexico. Many were mercenaries and participated in the local conflicts in Mexico, Nicaragua or Cuba. There was a remarkable outflow of Hungarians with Habsburg Maximilian in the 1860s.
After the Second World War, most of the Hungarian emigrants were also members of the Hungarian army under the Horthy-regime (1920-44). There was also some Hungarian artist in Mexico: Andrés Salgó, Günther Gerzsó, José Fehér were painters, Guillermo Kahlo was a photographer, Pál Kenyeres was a sculptor (Anderle, 2008). Kati Horna, born Katalin Deutsch, was a Hungarian-born Mexican photojournalist, surrealist photographer, and teacher. She was born in Budapest and lived in France, Berlin, Spain, and later was naturalized as Mexican. Most of her work was lost during the Spanish Civil War. She was also one of the most influential women artists/photographers of her time.
Today’s famous Hungarians in Mexico include Louis C. K. who is an Emmy-award winner comedian of Hungarian, Mexican and American origin. His grandfather emigrated to Mexico from Hungary.
Pál Kepenyes, a Hungarian-born Mexican sculptor emigrated to Mexico after the 1956 Hungarian revolution. He studied in Hungary and France, but most of his artistic work has been carried out in Mexico. He had many exhibitions not only in Mexico, but in New York, Berlin and Budapest, among others.
Luis Mandoki is a Mexican film director of Hungarian descent, working in Mexico and Hollywood. He studied Fine Arts in Mexico and at the San Francisco Art Institute, the London College of Printing, and the London International Film School. While attending this last institution he directed his first short film Silent Music which won an award at the International Amateur Film Festival of Cannes Film Festival in 1976.
Sport
The 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City brought 10 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals for Hungary, including a gold medal in football. With this performance, Hungary took the 4th place on the aggregate ranking of participating countries. Nevertheless, one of the most painful losses of the Hungarian soccer team also happened in Mexico. In 1986, during the World Cup, Hungary lost against the Soviet Union 6:0. Finally, there was also one famous Hungarian football coach in Mexico: Árpád Fekete. He played as a center forward in Hungary, Romania, and Italy in various teams. He later became a football coach in Mexico also managing the Mexican national team. Fekete managed four clubs from Guadalajara, Chivas, C.D. Oro, Club Atlas and Tecos, and won Liga MX titles with Chivas and Oro.
5. CONCLUSIONS
During the case study of Mexico and Hungary we have clearly shown that the countries have accumulated extensive connections over a long-term history of their relations. They mutually consider each other as a potentially important partner and are searching for opportunities to strengthen their relationship. The political ties are currently under the shadow of the very different migration policies of Hungary and Mexico. This is mostly due to the different geographical situations, as Hungary is located on important migration roads while Mexico is mostly an “issuing” country. In the economic terms, for Hungary, Mexico is the biggest trading partner in Latin America with increasing importance. For Mexico Hungary is less important even in regional comparison. However, in the case of FDI Hungary received more than 2 billion USD investment from Mexico. The cultural, scientific, and educational relations are solid with increasing tendency, mostly thanks to the Stipendium Hungaricum program of the Hungarian Government, putting Mexico second behind Brazil among the Latin American countries in the number of Stipendium Hungaricum grants for university students (Almadi, 2019). Despite extensive traditional ties, wide-ranging political, diplomatic, and social connections, and some emerging economic achievements, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the relations between the two countries.
Our paper has contribution to the literature by highlighting the effect of globalization to the economic, political and social connections between two distant countries. As we could see, Hungary and Mexico have solid and gradually intensifying economic, political, cultural, and scientific ties. In the context of international relations theory, we conclude as follows. The Prebisch-Singer hypothesis cannot be interpreted in the context of the Mexican-Hungarian relationships. Although the FDI invested in Hungary by Mexican companies is significant, we cannot say that this unbalanced structure of FDI impoverishes Hungary and enriches Mexico. As for the interdependence theory of Keohane and Nye (1987), we conclude that the Mexican-Hungarian relationship reinforces the view that international relations can be characterized by cooperation and interdependence with win-win, mutually benefiting outcomes, however the relatively low intensity of relationship is not supporting any dependency or interdependency.. Regarding the globalization theory, we confirm that the main assumption of this theory applies for Mexican-Hungarian relationships as changes or events are influenced by global tendencies and global networks (like the closure of Nokia’s Hungarian factory in 2014), are less and less influenced by national policies.
As potential further research topics we identified the case-study based, comparative analysis of bilateral relations between the Central-Eastern European (mostly Visegrád) countries and Mexico, which may be followed by other Latin-American countries (eg. Argentina, Chile, Colombia and due to historical ties Cuba) fitting into the objectives of the research project “Latin America and Hungary”.
