Pope Leo Arrives Milei’s Argentina: ‘Economy Must Serve Person’
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Buenos Aires from Uruguay on Sunday and used his first Argentine speech to press President Javier Milei on austerity, democracy and artificial intelligence. It is the first papal visit to Argentina in nearly 40 years.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Buenos Aires from Uruguay on Sunday, November 8, and used his first public speech in Argentina to challenge President Javier Milei's austerity agenda. "The economy must serve the person, not the person the economy," Leo told officials, diplomats and civic leaders.
It is the first papal visit to Argentina in nearly 40 years. It is also the most politically delicate stop on Leo's three-nation South American tour.
His address set out a view of governance, democracy and society that differs sharply from Milei's on spending cuts, social justice and artificial intelligence. The government had tried to play those differences down before the visit.
Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello said last week: "There's no way the pope is coming here to comment on local politics."
A call for gentler politics
Leo opened by urging calmer debate in a deeply polarized country. Democracy depends on "careful use of words" and "the ability to see those who think differently as fellow citizens with whom we share a common future," he said.
Milei's style is far more combative. He posts dozens of times a day on social media and has branded critics "traitors" and "human trash."
Welcoming the pope, Milei struck a rare conciliatory tone. "There are causes and occasions that transcend our differences," he said.
He called the late Pope Francis, who was Argentine, an "exceptional figure" and "undoubtedly the most important Argentine in history." Milei called Francis the "representative of evil on Earth" in 2020, and says he apologized when they met at the Vatican in February 2024.
Austerity and its cost
Leo also nodded to Milei's free-market instincts. He urged Argentina to encourage "whatever creates opportunities" and "stimulates private initiative." But growth must also benefit "those who are disadvantaged," he said, including the unemployed and retirees.
Milei's cuts have produced a rare budget surplus and reduced annual inflation from 200% to about 32%. Real wages remain below their level when he took office in late 2023, and roughly 300,000 formal jobs have vanished.
Retirees who say they cannot afford medicine on an average monthly pension of $510 have protested outside Congress every Wednesday for more than two years. The thinktank Mate estimates that retirees on the minimum pension, 63% of the total, have lost about 30% of their purchasing power.
Buenos Aires archbishop Jorge García Cuerva said last month that Leo would find "a divided Argentina and a large number of very poor brothers and sisters."
Disability funding and AI
On Monday, November 9, the pope's first stop is the Cottolengo Don Orione, a Catholic-run home for about 400 people with disabilities in Claypole, about 26km from Buenos Aires. Milei has made wide-ranging cuts to disability funding.
The home's coordinator, Fernando Montero, said the government cut off medications, special foods and diapers. "They haven't delivered any since last November. The matter is in court," he said.
The two men also differ on technology. In May, Leo called for "disarming" artificial intelligence, while Milei has said he would not regulate AI technology.
Leo began the trip in Uruguay on Friday. After three days in Argentina, he will finish with six days in Peru, where he spent two decades as a missionary priest.
