The controversial official in charge of managing the Covid-19 pandemic in Mexico, Hugo López-Gatellannounced this Friday that he will seek to be the candidate for head of Government of Mexico City of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena).
In an interview with La Jornada I made public my intention to be the coordinator of the Transformation Defense Committees in Mexico City. The great economic, political and social changes at the national level are undeniable; We are going to give them continuity,” revealed the Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion on his social networks.
López-Gatell is one of the most controversial officials in the Government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in particular for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemicwhich left more than 334,000 deaths recognized in Mexico, the fifth highest number in the world.
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Although he became a political celebrity at the beginning of the pandemic, the Undersecretary of Health later faced criticism for dismissing the use of face masks, justifying the rapid opening of businesses and going on vacation to the beach in January 2021, just at the most peak of deaths and infections.
He also faced accusations from the opposition of adapting the pandemic figures and recommendations to López Obrador’s claims.
The president confirmed in his daily press conference that the official is about to leave his position.
Dr. López-Gatell told me, I think he is going to say goodbye,” he said.
Born in Mexico City in 1969 as the grandson of Spanish exiles, he studied Medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and obtained a doctorate in Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
His announcement shakes Morena’s internal contest to define the candidacy for the head of Government of Mexico City.
López-Gatell will face Clara Brugada, the popular mayor of Iztapalapa, the most populated internal district of the capital with about 1.8 million inhabitants, and Omar García Harfuch, the former police chief of the capital known for surviving an attack by the organized crime in 2020.
Once the registration of candidates is completed, the Morena National Election Commission will present a list to the State Council of Mexico City to elect four profiles, two men and two women.
Later, Morena will carry out three surveys to choose a candidate on October 30.
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