Pope Leo tells Argentina's Trump-ally Milei that leaders must know limits of power

By Joshua McElwee and Leila Miller

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Pope Leo on Sunday urged Argentina to safeguard its democracy in a closely watched speech to President Javier Milei, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, during the second stop of a 12-day South American tour by the Catholic leader.

Leo told Milei, who has said he will seekreelection next year, that leaders must seek to better the lives of all their citizens and know the limits of their power. Milei's austerity agenda has been criticized by the Church for hitting the poorest most, and the president has strongly supported the Iran war.

"Authority is most authentic when it is exercised as service," the pope said in an address opening a three-day visit to Argentina, the first by a pope to the majority-Catholic country since 1987.

"Those who exercise authority have a duty to act with prudence, to acknowledge the limits of the power entrusted to them, and to direct their decisions toward the good of the entire community," said Leo, the first US-born pope, who drew Trump's ire earlier this year after denouncing the Iran war.

The pope, who madea historic choice for a Catholic leader to cast a ballot by mail in the US midterm elections last week, also said democracy requires that people learn to live together despite differences of opinion and have confidence in the rule of law.

"Democracy... is a part of Argentina's heritage that needs to be safeguarded," said Leo, adding that it is strengthened by "the patient search for agreement, and through the ability to see those who think differently as fellow citizens with whom we share a common future."

FIRST PAPAL VISIT IN 40 YEARS

Leo, 71, is making one of the most intense foreign trips by a Catholic leader in decades, less than a month after undergoing lung cancer surgery. He will tour four cities in Argentina through Wednesday.

After the pope's arrival at Buenos Aires' Jorge Newbery airport on Sunday, crowds thronged his route to downtown Buenos Aires, waving small Vatican and Argentine flags, while Catholic nuns in tan-colored religious habitschanted: "The pope is here, you can feel it."

"It's been almost 40 years, 39 exactly, that the pope hasn't come to Argentina," said Claudia Sona, who traveled from the northern province of Salta. "For Catholics, and I think for non-Catholics, this is a rebirth."

Milei, a theatrical figure known for bombastic statements and an unkempt haircut, swept to power in 2023 campaigning with a chainsaw as a symbol of the deep cuts to state spending he pledged to make to shore up the country's finances.

He has been accused of undermining democracy in Argentina with divisive rhetoric and attacks on the press.

The president has defended his austerity push as the only way to bring inflation under control. Under his economic campaign, annual inflation has fallen from over 200% to 33%.

But surveys show his popularity has slipped ahead of elections next year as Argentines contend with subsidy cuts, public-sector layoffs and business closures linked to squeezed household budgets.

STIMULUS SHOULD NOT TARGET POOR

Milei's cuts have also reduced social services, such as disability benefits, and poverty remains a challenge despite dropping significantly after peaking during the president's first year in office.

While Leo did not specifically refer to Milei's austerity agenda in his address, he urged that Argentina's efforts at economic stimulus not target the poorest.

"Efforts should be made to promote whatever creates opportunities, stimulates private initiative and ensures that economic growth also benefits those who are disadvantaged," he said.

The pope, who has warned that artificial intelligence could lead the world down a path of unending war,returned to the issue in Argentina, stressing that technological progress must be matched by "ethical consciousness" in remarks that touched on another of Milei's priorities.

Milei has championed AI development and said he wants Argentina to become a major destination fordata centers.

Leo is on an ambitious 50-event, three-country tour through November 17. He first visited Uruguay before arriving in Argentina and will carry on to Peru on Wednesday.

The pope, who addresses national governments on each of his foreign visits, usually speaks in careful, diplomatic language but has emerged as a more forceful voice on the world stage recently, decrying the direction of global leadership.

Ahead of his arrival in Argentina, analysts said his remarks to Milei would be closely parsed by local politicians.

"Any interventions by Leo, particularly on poverty, the limits of markets or confrontational political rhetoric, could be read as implicit criticism of Milei and amplify existing opposition to the government's approach," said Nicolas Watson, a managing director at advisory firm Teneo.

Fortunato Mallimaci, a sociologist at Argentina's Conicet research agency, said Leo's visit to Argentina will create a sense of unity and energy among those who feel excluded by Milei's economic program.

Over his 18-month papacy, Leo has urged world leaders to treat immigrants more humanely and called for action to address climate change, appeals that have put him at odds with Trump and other right-wing leaders.

EXPECTED TO DRAW MILLIONS IN ARGENTINA

The Vatican has described Leo's tour as a "homecoming" for the pope, who served for decades as a missionary in Peru and became a Peruvian citizen. The tour is expected to draw large crowds, with Argentine officials estimating some 7 million will see the pope in their country.

The pope's itinerary in Argentina includes visits to a care center for people with disabilities and a prison, underscoring his focus on highlighting groups that are often marginalized.

Milei was known for piling insults on Leo's predecessor, Francis, an Argentine who never came home during his 12-year papacy. Despite calling Francis "an imbecile," Milei eventually sought to repair relations and visited Francis at the Vatican.

"Milei doesn't win anything by fighting with (Leo)," said Veronica Gimenez Beliveau, a sociologist at the University of Buenos Aires.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee and Leila Miller, with additional reporting by Lucila Sigal, Lucinda Elliott, Candelaria Grimberg, Camilo Cohecha and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Alistair Bell, Helen Popper and Bill Berkrot)