President Gustavo Petro has chosen Daniel Quintero to oversee the health system of Colombians. The Presidency of the Republic published this Wednesday the resume of the former mayor of Medellín as a prerequisite for his official appointment as National Superintendent of Health, a position he would assume amid the system’s crisis. The left-wing leader selected him after doctor Bernardo Camacho resigned this Tuesday. Quintero, who sought to reach the Presidency but was defeated in the Frente por la Vida primary, is an electronic engineer, was Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Technologies, and has no prior experience in the sector.
Camacho took the position in October 2025, after several months of changes and interim management. According to Caracol Radio, the outgoing superintendent refused to comply with the presidential order to continue liquidating Health Promoting Entities or EPS – the public or private companies to which citizens must be affiliated to be insured — and transferring their users to the state-owned Nueva EPS, arguing that this entity no longer had the capacity to attend to more patients. Although Camacho has stated that his departure is due to personal reasons, the president himself reportedly asked for his resignation amid disagreements over the liquidation of the EPS.
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Petro, a fierce critic of the health system, has failed in his attempt to have Congress approve a health reform that eliminates the EPS or significantly reduces their functions and concentrates system management in the Executive. In response, he has been intervening little by little. So far, the State has taken control of eight EPS, which together have more than 23 million affiliates. With only a few months left in the current administration, Quintero, who has been close to President Petro and was a presidential candidate with his support, will be chosen to oversee the system and at the same time safeguard users’ rights amid these interventions.
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