Mexican Peso to Brazilian Real exchange rates aren't all the same.
The total cost you are charged by your bank or foreign exchange provider consists of a margin from the interbank mid-rate plus fees.
These margins and fees vary significantly for International Money Transfers and Travel Money transactions as shown below.
When determining the best time to make a foreign exchange transaction, in this case the MXN vs BRL, you should pay attention to the recent market trends for both currencies.
Mexican Peso (MXN)
At 18.8 per US dollar, the Mexican peso was trading on April-20 close to its strongest level in 6 ½ months, though it was meeting significant resistance (USD/MXN support) at 18.75—a level from which the peso was repelled twice last October, in March, and once already in April.
Boosting the peso has been the thriving oil market. Oil is high on the list of Mexico’s top exports and by April-20 it was up 44 percent for the year to $65 per barrel.
Also supporting the peso has been the dovish turn by the Federal Reserve. With no increase in US interest rates projected this year, the dollar will weaken and the peso should gain value because Mexico holds high levels of dollar-denominated debt, which becomes easier to repay when dollars are cheap and US rates are low.
Earlier this year, ING said that the peso would be among 2019’s best performing emerging market currencies, though newly-formed BlueLine Asset Management said one if its first market bets would be on peso depreciation based on disappointing economic growth.
Brazilian Real (BRL)
In late May, the real rallied away from 7-month lows against the dollar and euro. It remains, however, 21 percent and 13 percent lower than early 2018 levels against those currencies.
One of the most accurate currency forecasters of the past year (per Bloomberg rankings), Commerzbank’s You-Na Park, is optimistic about the real. He sees the currency's value rising 10 percent before year-end, from 3.98 per USD at the time of writing to 3.6, although he says that strength is dependent upon government pension reforms being passed (likely in the second half of this year).
Why can't I just get the MXN/BRL market rate I see online or in the media?
The mid-rate is the rate you will see quoted online or the news. It is actually just the half-way point (hence mid-rate) between
the last rate at which the MXN / BRL was traded (bought or sold) in the international markets.
All foreign exchange providers charge a fee for providing their service and this fee is usually contained within the exchange rate margin (or difference to the mid-rate).
Some providers such as Transferwise will quote you the mid-rate (or close to) and charge a separate percentage fee.
Getting a good market rate is mainly about timing however the transaction margin
you end up being charged can be considerably reduced by around a few percent (of total amount being exchanged) for
travel money and possibly over 5% to 6% when sending money.
The exact potential savings depends on the currencies being exchanged and the amount you are transferring and if you are willing to shop around.
