Pope Leo arrives in Argentina and tells Milei that people, not the economy, should come first

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Pope Leo XIV delivered a diplomatic but subtly strong critique of Argentine President Javier Milei's austerity measures and libertarian agenda as he arrived Sunday in Argentina, insisting that political leaders must put people, not the economy, first.

Leo used his first public speech in Argentina to lay out a vision of governance, democracy and society sharply at odds with Milei's, exposing differences over spending cuts, social justice and artificial intelligence that the government had sought to play down ahead of the visit.

"The economy must serve the person, not the person the economy," Leo told officials, diplomats and civic leaders upon his arrival in Buenos Aires from Uruguay.

READ MORE: With an ode to mate, Pope Leo urges faithful in Uruguay to build bridges of fraternity and faith

Leo's visit to Argentina is by far the most politically delicate of his three-nation South American tour, and a place where Leo will also confront the complicated legacy of Argentine Pope Francis, who never returned home during his 12-year pontificate.

Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist, has staked his presidency on slashing public spending to tame inflation, while describing the notion of social justice as "a horror," a "moral aberration" and "theft" in recent speeches.

Much like its allies in the Trump administration, Milei's government has portrayed the cuts as part of a necessary reform process to remake Argentina's troubled economy and eliminate fraud and waste in the federal bureaucracy.

Ahead of Leo's arrival in Argentina, the first by a pope in nearly 40 years, Milei's officials had dismissed the prospect of a political clash.

"There's no way the pope is coming here to comment on local politics," Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello said in an interview with a Buenos Aires radio station last week. In a message welcoming Leo, Milei said he hoped the trip would "strengthen the faith, renew hope and bring a message of peace to all Argentines."

A call for civility in politics

People hold a banner depicting Pope Leo as they await his visit to the Monument to General San Martin at Plaza San Martin during his 12-day trip to South America, on the first papal visit to Argentina since 1987, in Buenos Aires on Nov. 8, 2026. Photo by Matias Baglietto/Reuters

Leo took up that message of peace, opening with a call for gentler politics in deeply polarized Argentina. 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, costing him allies in Congress and public support. He posts dozens of times a day on social media, branding critics "traitors" and "human trash" and tagging posts #NOLSALP, a Spanish acronym for "We don't hate journalists enough."

Milei, who once called Francis the "representative of evil on Earth," paid homage to the late pope in welcoming Leo on Sunday. Interrupted by applause, he called Francis an "exceptional figure" and "undoubtedly the most important Argentine in history" whose teachings continue to resonate.

He also struck a rare conciliatory tone in welcoming politicians, diplomats and civil society representatives from across Argentina's ideological spectrum to Leo's ceremony.

"There are causes and occasions that transcend our differences," he said.

On the economy, Leo nodded to Milei's free-market instincts, urging Argentina to encourage "whatever creates opportunities" and "stimulates private initiative." But growth must also benefit "those who are disadvantaged," he said, including the unemployed, retirees and "all those who, despite hard work, nonetheless struggle to meet their household's needs."

READ MORE: What to know about Pope Leo XIV's trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

Milei's austerity drive has produced a rare budget surplus and slashed annual inflation from 200% to about 32%. But real wages remain below where they were when he took office in late 2023, and roughly 300,000 formal jobs have vanished. Retirees who say they can't afford medicine on an average monthly pension of $510 have protested outside Congress every Wednesday for more than two years. Milei has mocked the widespread complaint that families can't make it to the end of the month as "huge stupidity."

A missionary priest in Peru for two decades, Leo has embraced a pastoral style reminiscent of Francis, who as archbishop of Buenos Aires expanded the ranks of priests serving in the city's crime-ridden informal settlements.

Leo laid out a Christian vision of democracy, authority and economic progress that ran counter to Milei's. But he couched the implicit rebuke by referencing the church's social doctrine and papal pronouncements spanning more than six decades, invoking St. John Paul II, the last pope to visit Argentina, in 1987, among others.

That tradition also ran through Francis' papacy. His 2020 encyclical "Fratelli Tutti" criticized laissez-faire economics and defended social justice and workers' rights.

Argentina's bishops, many of them appointed by Francis, have become some of Milei's most persistent critics. Of the 44 documents on public policy published by the country's bishops' conference between January 2024 and September 2026, 42 criticized Milei's administration, on issues from poverty to migration, according to an analysis by sociologist Sol Prieto from Argentina's national research council.

Speaking to reporters after a Mass last month at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva warned that Leo would find "a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina."

Leo supports universities amid funding fight

Leo also took up the cause of Argentina's public universities, long a source of national pride and social mobility, whose funding cuts of about 40% since 2023 have united much of the country against Milei's fiscal shock therapy.

Giving young people a future in Argentina means "investing in education, vocational training, universities and research," he said.

READ MORE: Leo XIV has become the first pope in history to vote in a U.S. general election

Professors and students have repeatedly taken to the streets in mass protests, demanding the government honor a law passed by Congress to restore professors' salaries and boost scholarship and research funding after cuts that have driven thousands of academics from their jobs. Milei has refused to implement it, and the fight is tied up in court.

In a survey of nearly 1,200 final-year medical students and doctors in training, published last year by the Argentine Society of Medicine's research council, more than 80% said they had considered emigrating, and nearly a third had started applying for foreign citizenship.

"A nation must seriously ask itself where it has failed when its young people have to leave their homeland in order to make their dreams come true," Leo said.

A warning on natural resources and AI

Pope Leo waves as Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri symbolically presents him with the keys to the city, standing next to mayor's wife Maria Belen Luduena, outside the Casa Rosada presidential palace during his 12-day trip to South America, on the first papal visit to Argentina since 1987, in Buenos Aires on Nov. 8, 2026. Photo by Martin Cossarini/Reuters

Leo also said Argentina's natural resources must serve "the well-being of communities," language that could be read as a warning about Milei's bet on oil, gas and mining. To lure investment, Milei has loosened protections for glaciers that supply much of the country's water, and he has called human-caused global warming a "socialist lie."

Milei's push for investment has increasingly focused on artificial intelligence. With promises of minimal regulation and cheap energy, he is courting tech companies to build data centers in the southern Patagonia region. His government has also embraced AI for policing, which rights groups warn could enable mass surveillance.

Leo, who has made AI a signature concern of his papacy, warned on Sunday that rapid advances in the technology demand "careful consideration of the consequences of their application and the responsibilities of those who decide how to use them."

Associated Press writer Almudena Calatrava contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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