[2] Lema was born in the Jacinto Vera neighborhood of Montevideo, the son of an elementary school teacher and the owner of a food company, both of whom were not members of any political party.

[6] After graduating, he worked in the private sector until 2006, when at the request of then-representative Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou, he entered active politics in the National Party.

[11] The results of the commission's work led then-President Tabaré Vázquez to dismiss the body's top management in February 2018.

[15] On May 1, 2021, President Luis Lacalle Pou announced Lema as Pablo Bartol's successor as head of the Ministry of Social Development.

[16] The reason for Bartol's dismissal was the "demanding social consequences of the pandemic", which had to be addressed by "strong political and territorial coordination".