MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Néstor Kirchner as UNASUR Secretary General is an “Embarrassment”

Argentine lawmaker Eduardo Amadeo said Mr. Kirchner “does not believe in dialogue or diplomacy”

Néstor Kirchner's appointment as UNASUR Secretary-General is “an embarrassment” because “he doesn't believe in dialogue or diplomacy, or the organization as a whole”, claimed dissident Argentine lawmaker Eduardo Amadeo, interviewed by the Buenos Aires Herald.

“This is an embarrassment. (Néstor) Kirchner does not believe in dialogue or diplomacy. On the contrary, he creates conflict” said Eduardo Amadeo who recalled that the former president “had had conflicts with Brazil, Uruguay and many others.”

Amadeo then explained that being appointed Secretary General means “having a full-time job” and pointed out to the fact that Kirchner—in spite of having been elected to the Lower House last year—has “never attended any of the sessions”.

“He's just not going to care about it, and this is going to be another frustration. He doesn't believe in the project. He was absent back in 2004 during the first summit in Cuzco when all countries agreed to the creation of the organization. He didn't even go to any of the regional summits around the world,” he explained. Amadeo said he considered Kirchner's appointment “a political operation so he can be seen in a photograph with all the other presidents and look strong when facing the 2011 presidential elections.”

The dissident Peronist lawmaker, along with others in the opposition, have tried to block his appointment as Secretary-General by stating that the UNASUR Charter has yet to be ratified by the Argentine Congress, and some who do not approve of Kirchner's new post were threatening to reject it if he were picked. However, Amadeo acknowledged it would be impossible to reject his appointment as Secretary-General.

Eduardo Amadeo was one of the first politicians to be involved in the UNASUR project, which combines the Mercosur with the Andean Nations' Community into a regional integration organization.

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner—who for “obvious reasons” abstained from voting for Mr. Kirchner as UNASUR Secretary General—said that “the meeting was historic because, for the first time, the organization has chosen a secretary general during a very historic period.”

“The UNASUR group remained determined during a very difficult time for some of the region's countries. The organization is an instrument for unity. I abstained from voting as was expected, but I am honoured by the election of an ex Argentine president at secretary general,” she said.