Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Argentina for Tense Meeting with Milei
The pontiff begins the second leg of his South American tour in Buenos Aires, where church leaders have clashed with the libertarian government over austerity measures.
By Khalid Khalil ·
Pope Leo XIV has begun the second phase of his South American tour in Argentina.
The visit follows a two-day stop in Uruguay, where the pope addressed a crowd of 50,000 in the city of Florida. That congregation swelled the local population of 40,000, with many attendees walking kilometers to reach the site. Leo celebrated the feast of the Virgin of the Thirty-three, a statue that tradition says accompanied 33 patriots at the declaration of independence from Brazil on August 25, 1825. In his homily, he urged mothers and grandmothers to keep passing on their faith, telling them to never tire of the effort despite modern secular trends.
The arrival in Buenos Aires introduces a different political climate. President Javier Milei is scheduled to greet the pope at the airport for a formal welcome ceremony. The meeting is expected to be delicate because the Catholic Church has criticized Milei’s economic policies. Since taking office in December 2023, the libertarian leader has slashed the healthcare budget by 48% in real terms and planned cuts to public universities. Official data shows poverty reached 32.3% of the population, or about 15 million people, in the first half of 2026.
Milei has defended these cuts as necessary reforms to eliminate waste and achieve a budget surplus. He has described social justice as an aberration and called complaints about financial hardship huge stupidity. His government has also pushed for artificial intelligence investment with limited regulation, a stance that contrasts with Leo’s recent calls for strict, internationally policed safeguards on AI development.
Karina Milei, the president’s sister and secretary-general of the presidency, told reporters that the visit is purely religious. She stated that the pope belongs to all Argentines and not to any specific political camp. However, public sentiment appears mixed. Posters across Buenos Aires this weekend read At last, a Lion who unites. This slogan plays on the Spanish word for Leo, which is León, and contrasts it with the lion imagery Milei uses in his own branding.
Luis Bahamondes, a professor at the University of Chile, described Argentina as a society in deep polarization and economic crisis. He noted that Milei defies conventional protocol, having once challenged Pope Francis. Francis, Leo’s Argentine predecessor, never returned to his home country during his 12-year pontificate. His absence left a gap that Leo is now filling. The late pope’s tenure as a slum priest in Buenos Aires made him a symbol for the poor, a group that is feeling the impact of Milei’s austerity measures most acutely.
David Lantigua, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, said the tension between the church and the government is a legacy of Francis’ ministry. He expects Leo to face similar challenges because the pope spent two decades ministering to the poor in Peru. Leo is continuing the work of his predecessor, who also focused on the vulnerable.
Security officials are on high alert for the visit. Argentina’s state intelligence agency announced Saturday that a person was arrested over death threats against the pope. A federal court in Campana, located 70 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, ordered the arrest less than 24 hours after receiving the tip.
