Pope Leo Lands in Milei's Argentina as Church Fights Spending Cuts

Pope Leo XIV arrives in Argentina on Sunday for the most politically delicate leg of his three-nation South American tour, according to The Associated Press. Church leaders have sharply criticized the austerity program of President Javier Milei, a libertarian who is due to greet the pope at the Buenos Aires airport.

It is the first papal visit to Argentina since John Paul II came in 1987, The Guardian reported. Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, who was Argentine, never returned home during his 12-year pontificate.

What the church and Milei's critics say

Argentine church leaders have accused the government of putting economic orthodoxy ahead of the needs of the poor, the AP reported. Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva said last month that Leo would find “a divided Argentina” and many very poor people.

Disability funding is a central flashpoint. The Guardian reported that Argentina's bishops wrote to Health Minister Mario Lugones on April 1 to denounce the serious situation facing institutions that care for people with disabilities. The ministry has met the bishops twice since, in April and on Oct. 5, without resolving the impasse. A funding law remains in limbo after Milei clashed with Congress over it.

Fernando Montero, coordinator of the Cottolengo Don Orione, a Catholic-run home for about 400 residents with disabilities, told The Guardian that the government has stopped delivering medications, special foods and diapers since last November. He said the matter is in court. He described Milei as a “hyper-capitalist” whose worldview is opposed to the pope's teaching that a person's worth does not depend on productivity.

The two men also differ on artificial intelligence. The AP said Leo has warned of the threats the AI race poses to humanity and the environment and has called for strict, internationally policed safeguards. The Guardian reported that Milei has said he will not regulate the technology and has presented bills to build data centers and to give legal status to “no-human corporations.” Amnesty International has also written to the pope, voicing concern about government decisions that affect fundamental rights, The Guardian said.

What Milei's government says

The government says the spending cuts are a necessary reform to remake a troubled economy, curb inflation and eliminate fraud and waste in the federal bureaucracy, according to both outlets. The AP noted that the government's approach resembles that of its allies in the Trump administration.

Sandra Pettovello, the minister overseeing social policy, said recently that the pope would not come to comment on local politics, The Guardian reported. The government is trying to play down any potential for tension.

The relationship has a history. According to The Guardian, Milei called Francis highly insulting names in 2020 and accused him of promoting communism. Milei says he apologized when he met Francis at the Vatican in February 2024.

Why it matters for Argentines

The dispute is rooted in the economic strain many Argentines are feeling. The AP reported that Milei has cut the health care budget by 48% in real terms since taking office in December 2023, and that planned cuts to public universities sent students into the streets. Official data show poverty reached 32.3% of the population in the first half of 2026, about 15 million people.

The Guardian cited estimates from the think tank Mate that retirees on the minimum pension, who make up 63% of the total, have lost about 30% of their purchasing power. At a weekly retirees' march outside Congress last Wednesday, one man held a sign urging the pope to save them.

Analysts quoted by both outlets expect the visit to put those issues in focus. Juan Cruz Esquivel of Buenos Aires University said any papal mention of domestic production, labor, disability or social justice would naturally clash with the government's ideology. The Rev. Mariano Oberlin, a priest in an impoverished Córdoba neighborhood, expects the pope to uphold church social doctrine without direct confrontation.

What happens next

On Monday, Nov. 9, the pope's first stop is the Cottolengo Don Orione home in Claypole, outside Buenos Aires. He will then travel to the capital to meet business and union leaders. On Tuesday he will celebrate Mass at the grounds of FAdeA, the state-owned military aircraft factory in Córdoba, whose workers have protested against Milei's cuts, The Guardian reported.

After Argentina, Leo will spend six days in Peru, where he worked for two decades as a missionary priest. The AP reported that the 71-year-old pope is continuing the tour after surgery on Oct. 13 to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung. He has not cut any events short.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by The Guardian, ABC News