Al Jazeera Video: Kirchner Becomes Unasur Chief

The fledgling Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, on Tuesday elected former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner as its first permanent leader.

The decision was not popular in neighboring Uruguay, where the Kirchners are unpopular, in part because of their failure to solve a long-running dispute over the installation of a pulp mill along a shared river.

Nonetheless, Uruguay’s new president, Jose Mujica, said he wouldn’t vote against Kirchner. Mujica acknowledged that allowing Kirchner to become Unasur’s chief would “cost” him politically in Uruguay.

Meanwhile, it was unclear how Kirchner, who has never been particularly interested in either diplomacy or travel, will carry out his role while also fulfilling his duties as a recently-elected congressman in Argentina.

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