Among those who did show up to share the spotlight with Mr.Gadhafi were Brazil's President Lula de Silva, who took advantage of the occasion to denounce the coup in Honduras.

VOA: standard.2009.07.02

The leaders attending the Progressive Governance Conference in the seaside resort city of Vina del Mar are Presidents Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Christina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina and Tabare Vasquez of Uruguay as well as Prime Ministers Gordon Brown of Britain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain and Jens Stoltenberg of Norway.

CNN: Biden meets leaders ahead of G-20 summit

For Lula da Silva, Friday's announcement in Copenhagen, Denmark, that Rio de Janeiro will host the 31st Olympiad in 2016 signified a major achievement not only for his hemisphere (no city in South America has ever before hosted the games) but for him -- a former autoworker and union organizer who defied dizzying odds to become president.

CNN: Rio's victory is a victory for Lula da Silva, too