At the beginning of his historic visit to Argentina, the first by a pope in almost 40 years, Leo XIV demanded social justice, protection for retirees and people with disabilities, while calling for greater support for education and research. In the presence of Javier Milei, the pontiff defended an economy focused on the well-being of people, in a message that contrasts with the adjustment and reduction policies of the State carried out by the Argentine president.

First modification: 09/11/2026 - 03:06

This Sunday, November 8, Leo XIV began a historic visit to Argentina, the first by a pope in almost 40 years. In his first speech, he called for social justice and support for education and research, as well as the need to protect retirees and people with disabilities, precisely the sectors most affected by President Javier Milei's 'chainsaw'.

"The economy must be at the service of the person, and not the person at the service of the economy," the pope said before Milei himself, who listened sitting next to him in the auditorium of the former Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK), renamed by the far-right leader as Palacio Libertad.

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Milei became President in December 2023 with the promise of achieving fiscal balance and lowering inflation. To this end, he launched a series of public policies aimed at reducing the State, social programs, pensions and financing of public education and health, within the framework of an adjustment strategy that the president called the “chainsaw.”

Since then, 32,390 companies and 465,811 jobs have disappeared, the loss of purchasing power of workers and retirees has deepened, delinquency in households has skyrocketed to 12.8% and the unemployment rate has reached 7.9%, according to the Argentine Economic Policy Center (CEPA), in its report released this weekend under the title 'The Argentina that receives the Pope'.

Read alsoIn images: An uncomfortable visit? The arrival of the Pope to Milei's Argentina

In short, the Argentine middle class has been the hardest hit by adjustment policies, which have impacted human rights programs, women, retirees, education, childhood and vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities.

The pontiff's forceful speech precisely emphasized these aspects:

"I think in particular of the families who carry the weight of uncertainty, of those looking for work, of the elderly who have contributed for years to building society and of those who, even working, have difficulties meeting the needs of their home."

Likewise, the pope called for “special attention to illness, dependency and disability,” as well as “medicine, education, production and research.”

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The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge García Cuerva, who occupies the position that at the time belonged to Pope Francis, predecessor of Leo XIV, had already questioned the Milei Government about the situation of the retirees, who demonstrate every Wednesday before Congress and who are usually repressed by the Police. García Cuerva had also criticized the president's policies towards people with disabilities.

The pope's call to care for the people was completed with another on the defense of the land, in apparent rejection of the reform of the glacier law proposed by the Argentine Government to allow the exploitation of mining resources in areas surrounding the ice masses.

"Argentina has been blessed by God with an extraordinary natural wealth. Its fields, its water reserves, its energy sources, its minerals and the diversity of its ecosystems offer ample possibilities for development," said the pope, before adding that "an authentically human ecology knows how to unite the care of creation with that of people."

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Buenos Aires from Uruguay, where last Friday he began a South American tour that will also take him to Peru. There he lived and served as a priest and bishop for almost 20 years, considered the second homeland of the American-born pontiff.

The Pope's first words in Argentina, before a Milei who felt the blow of the electoral defeats of his allies in the United States and Brazil, as well as the dismissal and arrest of the already former president of Paraguay Santiago Peña (for his responsibility in the bankruptcy of Ueno Bank), have led him to offer a moderate message in which he has highlighted the figure of Pope Francis as an "exceptional being" and "the most important Argentine in history."

He also defended the Catholic faith after embracing Judaism in recent years, considering Israel a fundamental political partner and after recently inaugurating a large evangelical temple in Argentina.

Milei received León XIV on the tarmac of the Jorge Newbery International Airport and then they met privately at the Casa Rosada for 40 minutes. In the middle, the pontiff paid tribute, with a floral offering, to the monument of José de San Martín, hero of South American independence, and received the keys to the City of Buenos Aires.

The pope will preside this Monday at a mass that is expected to be massive in Buenos Aires. On Tuesday he will travel to the city of Córdoba and on Wednesday to Luján, where the basilica that houses the patron saint of Argentina is located.

With EFE

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