Pope calls for more consideration in Argentina

Criticism of President Milei

Pope calls for more consideration in Argentina

Over two million on the streets: Leo is rolling out the red carpet in the home of his predecessor. But Leo also finds critical words – and not just when it comes to dealing with the poor and disabled.

Pope Leo XIV is Argentina’s head of state Javier Milei urgently urged to be more considerate of weaker groups in society. “The economy must be at the service of people and not people at the service of the economy,” said the head of the Catholic Church at the start of a visit to the capital Buenos Aires. The course of President Milei, who has been in office for three years and wants to radically reduce the influence of the state, is highly controversial.

On Monday, Leo visited a Catholic social center that takes care of disabled people. According to local authorities, he then celebrated a mass in the open air in front of around 2.5 million people – the largest service of his time in office to date. Argentina – the homeland of his predecessor Francis, who died a year and a half ago – is Leo’s second stop after Uruguay on his twelve-day trip to South America.

At a reception in Milei’s presence, the American native called on people to “take care of the weak, forgive, share and support those who need help.” Economic growth must also benefit those “who are struggling with greater difficulties.” In Argentina, the gap between rich and poor has been widening ever since Milei took office.

The market-radical politician came to government in 2023 with the promise of a radical “chainsaw policy”. The once enormous reforms went through a series of reforms inflation massively back. The economy is growing again. However, there is a lot of criticism about the social hardships that come with it. According to official statistics, 15 of Argentina’s 46 million inhabitants live below the poverty line. The country is also suffering from a wave of emigration.

It is the first papal visit to the South American country in almost 40 years. There was great disappointment that Francis never returned to his homeland after his election as pontiff. Apparently the first pope from South America feared getting into a party dispute.

His successor will now be in Argentina until Wednesday. In his appeal for more justice, he particularly referred to the plight of families. In the presence of Milei, he said: “Whoever has power also has a duty to act prudently, to recognize the limits of the power entrusted to him and to base his decisions on the well-being of the entire community.”

On the emigration of young Argentines in particular who are looking for their future in European countries Spain or Italy See, the Pope said: “A nation must seriously ask itself where it has failed when its young people have to leave their homeland to achieve their dreams.” Education and vocational training must be strengthened and organized crime, human trafficking and corruption must be combated decisively.