Despite the rejection generated in Colombia by the appointment of former Medellin mayor Daniel Quintero as the new Superintendent of Health, President Gustavo Petro insisted on confirming him in that position, responsible for overseeing the country’s troubled health sector. However, actions have been emerging to reverse that designation, such as that of the current mayor of the capital of Antioquia, Federico Gutierrez, who succeeded Quintero in that office.
The two have been engaged in an intense political dispute for representing completely opposite sectors. And the most recent chapter of their struggle is led by Gutierrez, who this Monday filed before the Council of State (highest authority of administrative litigation) a lawsuit seeking to overturn Quintero’s appointment, and requests a precautionary measure that immediately suspends the designation.
It is an action by the District of Medellin against Quintero
But Gutierrez did not act alone. Before the Fifth Section of the Council of State, the current mayor of Medellin presented his lawsuit accompanied by the main directors of the public hospital network of Medellin: the director of the General Hospital, Juan David Arteaga Florez; the manager of Metrosalud, Adriana Velasquez Arango; and the executive director of the Children’s Hospital Concejo de Medellin, Olga Cecilia Mejia Jaramillo, El Colombiano reported.
In other words, this is not a personal action by Gutierrez against Quintero, but rather by the District of Medellin against the former mayor. In fact, the action was filed invoking the purpose of protecting the stability of the city’s health system, arguing that Quintero would not even meet the requirements demanded for that position.
The first thing the action does, according to the Antioquia newspaper, is recall that the job manual for the superintendent position requires whoever holds it to have knowledge of health risks, public management, comprehensive project management, public health policies and a deep understanding of the General System of Social Security in Health. And Quintero has only been a public official in entities such as Innpulsa, the Ministry of ICT and mayor of Medellin, functions that would not be related to the expertise required to lead the Health Superintendence.
The Medellin Mayor’s Office also emphasizes that in his academic background Quintero holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering and a specialization in Finance. The plaintiffs argue that, in a technical body such as the Superintendence, a professional career intrinsically linked to the health sector is required, so that oversight of the system can be carried out rigorously.
The timing would not work in Daniel Quintero’s favor
For them, the absence of this profile would distort the technical essence with which the Superintendent position was conceived and would compromise the legal and operational stability of the entity. “Based on the above, it is concluded that Mr. Daniel Quintero Calle does not meet the constitutional and legal qualifications and eligibility requirements, since he does not comply with the academic training and related professional experience requirements to be National Superintendent of Health,” they state.
To conclude, they argue that even if the position of mayor of Medellin were considered valid experience, the requirements would still not be sufficient. Gutierrez said that the nature of the mayoral position, despite having the role of highest police authority and influencing the management of the city’s hospitals, would not be enough, given that this role is more about general administration and interinstitutional coordination than technical oversight such as that carried out by a superintendence.
In addition, even if the months Quintero spent in that office are taken into account, the experience would add up to 46 months, far from the 84 months of experience required for the superintendent position. “Even if the application of equivalencies provided for in the legal system for the executive level were accepted, the accumulated time, including compensation for postgraduate degrees, would also be insufficient to meet the legal requirement,” he said.