Lula! the man, the myth and a dream of Latin America
Join us for this public event with Richard Lapper, author and consultant who ran the FT bureau on Latin America for over a decade. Richard will be discussing his latest book, Lula! The Man, The Myth and a Dream of Latin America.
“Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's extraordinary career spans five decades. He has gone beyond 'a Brazilian politician' and become one of the most fascinating political operators of our young century.
In October 2022, Lula was once again elected President of Brazil, replacing the far-right strongman Bolsonaro, sparking an insurrection, and exiling the fallen demagogue to Trump-friendly circles in the US. He won by promising to save the Amazon (and, therefore, the world) and, as ever, to give power back to the Brazilian people. This has long been the dream of Latin American left-wing movements – many of which have ended in corruption, disaster and death. Lula has survived at least three curtain calls. Imprisoned for corruption in the notorious 'Car Wash' scandal, voted out, bullied and beaten, Lula continues to draw huge crowds of workers wherever he goes. He speaks of revolution and comes from the streets of São Paulo, and yet he is enmeshed in hidden bank accounts and lobbying scandals. When Barack Obama met Lula during his second term as President of Brazil in 2009, he called him 'the most popular politician in the world'.”
Meet our speaker and chair
Richard Lapper (@onLatinAmerica) is an author and consultant, and a former Financial Times journalist specialising in Latin America. He is the author of Lula! The Man, the Myth and a Dream of Latin America (Bloomsbury, 2026) and Beef, Bible and Bullets: Brazil in the Age of Bolsonaro (Manchester University Press, 2021). His consultancy clients include Aurora Macro Strategies, a US-based risk advisory firm, for whom he writes regularly on Brazil, and he is also an associate of Chatham House. Richard worked at the Financial Times from 1990 to 2015, serving as Latin America Editor for ten years.
Vanessa Rubio-Márquez (@VRubioMarquez) is Associate Dean for Extended Education, had a 25-year career in Mexico's public service, including serving as Senator and three times Deputy Minister (Finance -first woman in history at the job; Social Development; and Foreign Affairs). She held every position on the public sector ladder and has represented Mexico in various international fora, including the UN, the IMF, the WB, the OECD, the G-20 and a wide variety of regional development banks.
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