Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) - Pope Leo XIV delivered a stinging critique of President Javier Milei’s harsh austerity measures Sunday, insisting growth must benefit all in a speech met with rapturous applause.

“The economy must be at the service of the people, rather than people being at the service of the economy,” he said, shortly after landing in Argentina on the second leg of a Latin America tour.

Leo stressed the plight of those who, “despite hard work, nonetheless struggle to meet their household’s needs.”

He spoke out in defense of the poor and pensioners, insisting that “particular concern be shown for those affected by illness, dependency and disability” – a veiled reference to the government’s controversial cuts to disability assistance.

And he told Milei, known for his foul-mouthed diatribes, that strengthening democracy required a “willingness to listen” and the “careful use of words.”

Milei, for his part, said his government was working to avoid “punishing the Argentines of tomorrow in order to benefit the Argentines of today.”

- Appeals for unity -

The visit is the first by a pontiff to Argentina in nearly four decades, and Leo was met with calls to help mend deep divisions in the country after three years of austerity under Milei.

Leo arrived in Buenos Aires from Uruguay, where he began his first trip as pope to Latin America, the world’s most Catholic continent which is becoming increasingly secular.

Argentina is the home country of the late pope, Francis.

Milei famously insulted Francis for his pro-poor teachings. Leo said he was “retracing” Francis’s steps.

- ‘Unite us’ -

Argentines are hoping the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics will help unite the country, which is bitterly divided between supporters and opponents of Milei.

“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 to see the pope visit a monument to liberation hero Jose de San Martin.

Hundreds more chanting “Papa Leon” (Spanish for Leo) gathered outside the presidential palace, where he was hosted by Milei.

Brian Inacio Rodriguez, a 26-year-old job seeker, spent five days traveling overland from Ushuaia, at the very tip of South America, to see the pontiff.

He said he hoped he brought “much peace to Argentina.”

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

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

In Buenos Aires, he insisted on the importance of “personal integrity” in public office, stressing that “corruption undermines the confidence of citizens in their institutions.”

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 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 combative 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 criticized 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.