Pope Leo XIV delivered a stinging critique of Argentina President Javier Milei’s harsh austerity measures on Sunday (November 8, 2026), insisting growth must benefit all in a speech met with rapturous applause.
“The economy must be at the service of the people, rather than people being at the service of the economy,” he said, shortly after landing in Argentina on the second leg of a Latin America tour.
Mr. Milei famously insulted Pope Francis for his pro-poor teachings. Pope Leo will visit a home for disabled people and a prison and celebrate three open-air masses. A close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, with a similar combative style, Mr. Milei had a tense relationship with Pope Francis.
Brian Inacio Rodriguez, a 26-year-old job seeker, spent five days travelling overland from Ushuaia, at the very tip of South America, to see the pontiff.
He spoke out in defence of the poor and pensioners, insisting that “particular concern be shown for those affected by illness, dependency and disability” — a veiled reference to the government’s controversial cuts to disability assistance. Pope Leo said he was “retracing” Pope Francis’s steps. “Just like the World Cup unites us, hopefully the Pope will too,” said Liliana Deblauwe, a 68-year-old retired teacher who waited with hundreds of people to see the Pope visit a monument to liberation hero Jose de San Martin. He said he hoped he brought “much peace to Argentina. The Church has said it expects a total of seven million faithful at the various events.
