In the Argentina of ultra-liberal Milei, the Pope calls for an economy “at the service of the person”

Pope Leo In a speech rich in messages to civil and political authorities, including Javier Milei, accustomed to excesses and insults targeting adversaries or journalists, Leo XIV also launched an appeal for temperance in public life, "in the care given to speech, in the patient search for compromise". “He who exercises authority also has a duty to act with prudence, to recognize the limits of power,” he insisted.

The 71-year-old pontiff arrived in Argentina on Sunday, the second stop, between Uruguay and Peru, of an ambitious 12-day tour of Latin America, a continent where he worked for twenty years as a missionary and bishop. It's his first trip after lung cancer surgery almost four weeks ago. Shortly after his arrival, he spoke face to face for almost an hour with Javier Milei at the Casa Rosada, the presidency.

Outside, frustrated at being kept at a distance by security barriers, several hundred people, many draped in Vatican or Argentinian flags with the pope's effigy, chanted his name. Brian Inacio Rodriguez, 26, had made the 3,000 km trip with his father from Ushuaia in Patagonia, just to be "near the pope".

A five-day car journey that was “worth it”, assures the young unemployed person, hoping that Léon “brings a lot of peace to Argentina”. Ovation for Francis After three days in Uruguay, the most secular country in Latin America, Leo XIV makes the first visit by a pope to Argentina since John Paul II almost 40 years ago. In his speech, he rejoiced at the "special significance" of his presence, which sees him "traveling the opposite path" to his predecessor Francis, the Argentine pope who in twelve years of pontificate, never returned to his country until his death in 2025.

A Pope Francis with whom Javier Milei had particularly tense relations in the past, calling him "an imbecile", before a publicized reconciliation at the Vatican. On Sunday, Milei hailed “the most important Argentinian in history” in reference to Pope Francis. Whose mention of the name received an endless ovation.

But the leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world revived the social fiber of his predecessor, calling to "favor everything which opens up prospects (...) and allows growth to also benefit those who encounter the greatest difficulties". The Catholic faith is losing ground in Argentina, but still largely in the majority, shared by 57.7% of 46 million Argentines according to a recent survey by the University of Buenos Aires.

According to the authorities, up to seven million people are expected over four days during the Pope's trips to Argentina. "Peace and union" "We feel very moved. It's a historic event," Magdalena, a 40-year-old occupational therapist, who came with her little daughter, told AFP, among hundreds of people near a square in Buenos Aires where Leo XIV laid a wreath to the hero of South American independence, José de San Martin.

Machine-translated from French