As of 2019, Brazil does not require a visa for tourists from the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada. However, that has changed since last Monday the 13th, when the State Department announced that Brazil would again require visas for tourists from those countries. This measure caused disagreement among experts.
principle of reciprocity
According to the announcement by the Itamaraty or the Ministry of International Relations, the lifting of the measure was not abrupt. Because Brazil has contacted these countries to ask them to grant visafree access to Brazilian tourists as well. Since this did not happen, the annulment was decided.
In this sense, Brazil has opted for the principle of reciprocity, which is very important in diplomatic relations, especially in tourism.
For many experts, this position was correct and can generate more credibility and negotiating power in international negotiations. However, visa exemption has been a demand from the tourism industry for years.
Including 2017 still in the government of the former president Michael Temer, the Ministry of Tourism proposed a visa waiver. At the time, Itamaraty replied that it would not consider granting an exception to a country with which it could not achieve equality.
Therefore, the end of the visa requirement only came in 2019 by decree of the former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Criticism at the end of the exemption
The main criticism at the end of the derogation came from representatives of the tourism industry. For them, the principle of reciprocity for tourism does not make sense since Brazil is not among the top tourist destinations for Americans and citizens of other countries.
So there is no way to demand similar behavior from the other side.
In addition, these representatives also dispute the discourse that the number of tourists in Brazil did not grow after the end of the exemption application. Because according to them, the pandemic has severely disrupted the tourism sector.
In this case, the country had a peak of American tourists in the country in 2022, but the number was similar to the previous peak in 2012.