ABSTRACT
The author had not yet been elected president of Costa Rica during Lula's first two terms, 2003–10, but had several opportunities for contact with his legacy and met him personally only after Lula had left office. Lula's vision was still at the centre of the 2015 Summit of the Latin American and Caribbean Community of States (CELAC) which the author chaired in San José. It was then a vigorous, autonomous geopolitical entity for the Americas, though it later became a victim of regional feuds. He regards the overthrow of Lula and the accusations against him as one of Latin America's most infamous political conspiracies so far in the 21st century. He sees Lula's challenges now as being to renew the social policy and deal with poverty and inequality without populism, and to regain his credibility as a national leader, after almost a decade of unfounded accusations against him.
