3 minWorld
Papa Leo dice a Milei que la economía debe servir a los necesitados
Pope Leo, on his first visit to Argentina, told President Javier Milei that the economy must serve people first, during the most politically delicate stop of his South America tour.
Pope Leo told Argentina's President Javier Milei that the economy must serve people first, a message delivered during the most politically delicate stop of the pontiff's tour of South America. The visit to Argentina, the home country of Pope Francis, places Leo at the center of a complicated legacy in a nation that his predecessor led the Church from for twelve years without ever returning to visit.
The trip carries weight beyond the religious sphere. Milei's government is pursuing market-oriented economic reforms, and the pope's remarks land in a country where questions of poverty, employment and social protection remain central to public debate. According to reporting on the visit, Leo framed the economy as a tool that should first answer the needs of ordinary people, a principle that sits at the heart of Catholic social teaching.
The pope's emphasis on the needy was visible on the ground before he arrived. Last month, a social-rights march was held in La Matanza, a working-class municipality in Buenos Aires Province, and clergy prayed there in support of those taking part. The march preceded the papal visit and offered a local backdrop to the national conversation on how economic policy affects the country's poorest residents.
Francis, who led the Church until his death, is widely associated with a focus on the poor and with a critical view of unregulated markets. His absence from Argentina during his papacy has long been a point of interest for Argentine Catholics, and Leo's trip gives the country its first papal visit of this pontificate. The visit is one of three stops on his tour of the region, but Argentina has drawn particular attention because of the personal and symbolic connection between the new pope and his predecessor's homeland.
It remains unclear how Milei's government responded to the pope's remarks, and reporting available so far does not detail any official reaction. It is also not yet known whether the visit will lead to any change in the government's economic direction. Milei's reform agenda has been the subject of sharp debate at home, and the pope's call for an economy that serves people first is likely to be read by supporters and critics alike as a contribution to that debate, though its practical effect on policy has not been established.
Source: nytimes.com
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