Pope Leo Argentina visit: economy must serve the person, he tells Milei
On arrival in Buenos Aires the Pope said growth must benefit the disadvantaged, on a tour stop made delicate by President Javier Milei's spending cuts.
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Pope Leo XIV arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday 8 November 2026 and told Argentina’s officials that “the economy must serve the person, not the person the economy,” PBS reported. The Pope Leo Argentina visit is the most delicate stop of his South American tour, because President Javier Milei has built his government on deep cuts to public spending.
What happened on arrival in Buenos Aires
“Pope Leo arrived by plane from Montevideo at 4.30 p.m.,” America Magazine reported. Milei and a guard of honour welcomed him. From the airport he went to the Monument to General San Martin, where crowds waving flags cheered, and then to the Casa Rosada for a private visit with the president. Milei later went with him to Palacio Libertad, where an audience of some 1,000 people applauded as he entered.
Key numbers
- 6 to 17 November: the dates of the Pope’s journey to Argentina, Peru and Uruguay.
- 32.3%: the share of Argentines living in poverty, according to America Magazine.
- About 32%: Argentina’s annual inflation, down from about 200%, PBS reported.
- About 40%: the cut in public university funding since 2023, per PBS.
- About 300,000: the formal jobs that have vanished, per PBS.
What Pope Leo XIV and Milei said
The Pope said growth must also benefit “those who are disadvantaged,” including the unemployed and retirees. He called for “the ability to see those who think differently as fellow citizens with whom we share a common future,” and added that “a nation must seriously ask itself where it has failed when its young people have to leave their homeland in order to make their dreams come true.”
Milei has described social justice as “a horror” in recent speeches. He welcomed the visit and hoped it would “strengthen the faith, renew hope and bring a message of peace to all Argentines,” PBS reported.
Why the Pope Leo Argentina message on the economy matters
Inflation has fallen from about 200% a year to about 32%, and the government ran a rare budget surplus, PBS reported. Against that, real wages remain below late 2023 levels. Retirees, whose average monthly pension is $510, have protested outside Congress every Wednesday for more than two years.
What happens next
The tour runs until 17 November and includes Peru, America Magazine reported. Neither report details the coming days in Argentina, and it is not clear whether Milei will change course on spending. Read more about Pope Leo XIV and Javier Milei, or see our World coverage and our report on the Israeli government talks.
The visit puts a global moral voice in front of a government built on austerity. His words on the economy, democracy and young people leaving the country will be read as a message to Milei. Whether that changes spending policy is not yet clear.