Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Argentina Amid Tensions With Milei Government
The Vatican head completes Francis' unfinished visit as the church criticizes the libertarian president's austerity measures and poverty rates reach 32.3%.
By Carlos Rousseau ·
Pope Leo XIV entered Argentina on Sunday to conclude a South American tour that has placed him at the center of a sharp economic debate.
The visit marks the second leg of a trip that began in Uruguay, where Leo became the first pope to visit the country in nearly 40 years.
In the city of Florida, north of Montevideo, Leo celebrated the feast of the Virgin of the Thirty-three. The event commemorates 33 independence patriots who carried a Guaraní statue to the site where independence from the Brazilian Empire was declared on August 25, 1825.
Leo addressed a crowd estimated by the Vatican at 50,000 in a city with a population of about 40,000. He praised mothers and grandmothers for preserving Catholic faith in a secular nation, telling them to "never tire of passing on the faith."
Leo now faces a more politically complex reception in Buenos Aires. President Javier Milei is scheduled to greet the pope at the airport and join him for a welcome ceremony. The Argentine church has criticized Milei's austerity program, which has slashed social spending and reduced the healthcare budget by 48% in real terms since the libertarian took office in December 2023.
Milei has defended the cuts as necessary reforms to fix the economy and eliminate waste. He has called social justice "an aberration" and described complaints about monthly budgets as "huge stupidity." His government has also courted investment in artificial intelligence with promises of limited regulation, a stance that contrasts with Leo's call for strict international safeguards on AI development.
Official data shows poverty in Argentina reached 32.3% of the population, or about 15 million people, during the first half of 2026. Milei's sister and secretary-general, Karina Milei, told reporters that the visit is purely religious, stating that the pope belongs to all Argentines and not to any political camp.
The trip also resolves a long-standing question regarding Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis. The Argentine Jesuit never returned to his home country during his 12-year pontificate. Leo, who spent two decades as a missionary in Peru, will visit that nation on the final leg of his journey. A federal court in Campana ordered the arrest of a person over death threats against Leo less than 24 hours after the state intelligence agency received a tip.
