Hugo López-Gatell is appointed Mexico's representative to the WHO and PAHO.

MEXICO CITY (apro).- Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, former undersecretary of Health and known as the "pandemic czar" for being in charge of responding to the COVID-19 health emergency in Mexico in 2020, was appointed Mexico's representative to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Great news for national and global public health policies: Dr. @HLGatell, whose magnificent work during the @lopezobrador_ administration helped save so many lives, has been appointed by the @Claudiashein administration as Mexico's representative to PAHO/WHO. Congratulations!” wrote María Elena Álvarez-Buylla, former director of the National Council for Science and Technology.

He is one of the most controversial and criticized former officials of the Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration due to the national attention he gave to the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic, which left 334,336 people dead, according to the General Directorate of Epidemiology (DGE) as of June 26, 2023. However, critics and specialists assured that there was an excess mortality of more than 800,000 people.

Among the controversies he faced as Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion and "pandemic czar" were his disagreements with the then-head of government of Mexico City and current president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, over the use of face masks as a preventive measure against contagion.

Another well-remembered controversy was his statement at the beginning of the health emergency when, when asked whether President López Obrador could be a source of contagion due to his weekend tours around the country, he replied: "The president's strength is moral, not a source of contagion." The Tabasco native contracted the virus three times.

In 2024, the doctor, a supporter of the Fourth Transformation, attempted to be Morena's candidate for Mayor of Mexico City, but was unsuccessful. In the poll the party conducted to select its candidate, he placed a distant third.

At the start of Sheinbaum Pardo's presidency, former official López-Gatell was not included in her central or expanded cabinet, nor was he considered for any legislative or mayoral candidacy.

Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez holds a doctorate from the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), specializing in Internal Medicine from the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition "Salvador Zubirán" (INCMN).

He holds a master's degree in Medical, Dental, and Health Sciences from UNAM and a postdoctoral fellowship in Epidemiology from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. After serving under the López Obrador administration, he returned to the INCMN as a specialist.