Pope Leo arrives in Argentina amid divisions over Milei’s austerity

Pope Leo XIV was greeted on Sunday in Argentina with calls to help mend deep divisions in the country after three years of austerity under President Javier Milei.

The pope arrived in Buenos Aires from Uruguay where he began his first trip of Latin America, the world's most Catholic continent where secularism is growing fast.

The visit is the first by a pontiff to the home country of the late pope Francis in nearly four decades.

Argentines are hoping that his arrival will help unite the country, which is bitterly divided between supporters and opponents of the libertarian Milei.

Milei, who famously insulted Francis for his pro-poor teachings, greeted the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics at the foot of his plane on arrival.

"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 in a square for a glimpse of the passing pontiff.

"I'd like him to bring peace, unity, and-it's not nice to say this but for him to kick out Milei because he's a bad person," said Maria Veronica Panza, a 52-year-old housewife waiting nearby.

Leo is expected to speak out in defense of the vulnerable over the course of his four-day visit.

Several hundred people chanting "Papa Leon" and waving yellow-and-white Vatican flags gathered outside the presidential palace where he was hosted by Milei.

They were kept at a distance, behind anti-riot police barriers.

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 pope.

"It was worth it to be near the holy father," he said, adding he hoped he brought "much peace to Argentina."

Just three weeks after undergoing surgery for lung cancer, he is on an ambitious 12-day tour of the continent where he served nearly two decades as a missionary.

In secular Uruguay, he condemned drug violence and urged an end to child poverty.

The Argentine stage of his visit aims to boost the flagging faith of a country left disappointed by Francis's failure to visit during his papacy.

It will also act as a litmus test of support for the Church.

Some 57.7 percent of people identified as Catholic in a recent University of Buenos Aires poll, down from around 90 percent in the 1960s.

Leo is expected to urge greater protection of society's most vulnerable in the wake of Milei's cuts, which have left millions on the breadline.

He will visit a home for disabled people and a prison and celebrate three open-air masses.

The Church has said it expects a total of seven million faithful at the various events.

'Imbecile' Francis

Milei came to office on a promise to revive Argentina's ailing economy and tame runaway inflation by shrinking the welfare state, targeting public hospitals, universities and pensioners in particular.

The poverty rate has swung wildly since he came to power -- increasing to 32.3 percent in September.

A close ally of US President Donald Trump, with a similar attacking style, Milei had a tense relationship with Francis.

On the campaign trail the cost-cutting economist called his countryman an "imbecile" for championing social justice.

Once in office, however, he softened his tone but he continues to heap insults on the press and opposition.

His relationship with Leo has so far been cordial, but the local Catholic Church has heavily criticised him for treating key social services solely as a budgetary constraint.

Milei has also been criticized for restricting several democratic freedoms, including the right to protest.

But he maintains a loyal supporter base for drastically reducing inflation.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)