Francisco, a pope who divides Argentines

By the RFI correspondent in Buenos Aires

At the time of his election, on March 13, 2013, he presented himself as the Pope who had come “from the end of the world.” That is, Argentina, which unanimously applauded his accession to the throne of San Pedro. Catholics, followers of other religions, agnostics, lay people, everyone in his native country celebrated that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, until then archbishop of Buenos Aires, had become Pope with the name of Francisco. But ten years have passed and her “end of the world” is still waiting for his visit.

“Father Jorge”, as he was called here, has not returned to Argentina since his election, which is surprising in his country and in the rest of the world. Even more so if one takes into account that he has not stopped traveling during his ten years as pontificate, despite his age (today he is 87 years old) and recent health problems that make it difficult for him to travel. In total, the Pope has made 40 apostolic trips, which have taken him to sixty countries, including nine in Latin America: as soon as he was elected, in July 2013, he went to Brazil for World Youth Day (WYD). Two years later, in July 2015, he visited Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay. In September of that same year, Francisco went to Cuba, on a trip that also included the United States. In February 2016 he went to Mexico, in September 2017 to Colombia and in January 2018 to Chile and Peru.

political instrumentalization

In ten years of his pontificate, Francis will have visited the two most important Latin American countries, Brazil and Mexico, both with a Catholic majority, and almost all of the Spanish-speaking countries in South America. But not Argentina. Why not? Obviously, all the Argentine media that interviewed him on the tenth anniversary of his election asked him this question. By way of response, Francisco says that he has thought about it “more than once”, but without finding a possible date. January 2018, after Chile and Peru? Excluded, because January is the month of great holidays in Argentina (like August in France), impossible to gather the faithful, mostly on the beach, if not in the mountains or in the countryside, he says.

Is there no other possible date in ten years? Difficult, given his necessarily tight schedule and the Argentine electoral calendar. “If I come when the country is in the middle of the campaign, there is a risk that the government in power will try to take advantage of my trip to promote his re-election,” says the Pope. Argentina votes every two years, and the mid-term legislative elections take place between two presidential elections, so it will not come this year either, when it will be necessary to choose the successor to the Peronist president Alberto Fernández and renew half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of those of the Senate.

If this last argument is valid, many believe that the Pope has not really attempted to visit their country since his election. Not because he wanted to avoid getting involved in national politics, but rather because he hasn’t stopped doing it. So much so that this man, who received unanimous support in his country in 2013, now divides Argentines. Many of his compatriots criticize him for certain statements considered partisan, gestures towards political figures and directives that he would give to the local Church, and in particular to his successor as Archbishop of Buenos Aires Mario Poli. In these conditions, he ran the risk, in the event of a visit, of being acclaimed by some, but with slogans that he would not necessarily have liked, and ignored, if not rejected by others. Hence his confusion and the explanations he gives today.

What is the reality? It is true that Francisco is present in Argentine political life, which he follows closely, and even more so than when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Through messages that he directs to his compatriots or statements by Mario Poli, whose inspiration is attributed to him, not without some reason, given the links between the two. Or receiving trade unionists, social and political leaders from their country in the Vatican. Distant, if not cold, during his official meetings with former center-right president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), he has been seen relaxing and smiling with Peronist leaders, particularly former president Cristina Kirchner (2007-2011 and 2011-2015). , now vice president, whom he has received three times, with open arms and for long conversations.

A “Peronist Pope”?

For many Argentines, the case is clear: Francisco has returned to the Peronism that this Jesuit was close to in his youth. In fact, the Pope’s social doctrine, now deployed throughout the world, is inspired by Peronism, in the sense that it rejects the class struggle while placing the poor and excluded at the center of pastoral action. In the archdiocese, he gave priority to the work of priests in underprivileged areas, where he was often seen. But those who today speak of a “Peronist Pope” forget that, at the same time, Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio had a tense relationship with Cristina Kirchner when she was president. Undoubtedly, because he wanted to keep his distance and preserve his independence from the Government, even though he was a Peronist. Actually, from Bergoglio to Francisco, the message has not changed much. The difference is that today it has more weight and that in Argentina some, including Kirchner, but also social leaders, use it politically.

Francis was reckless in not distancing himself further from the political life of his country. He demonstrated it again during the debate on the legalization of abortion, which was finally approved by Parliament in December 2020. Beyond the well-known position of the Catholic Church, it has manifested itself publicly in a way that it would not have done for any other country, thus alienating a large part of the youth and many women.

In a kind of marketing operation towards his country, the Pope is now trying to clear the ground, to make an eventual return possible. In his latest interviews, he distances himself from local politics and says he is not a Peronist. He also expresses his wish to be able to return to his compatriots after the next elections in 2024. Until then, he will have to clarify other ambiguities and give more guarantees to those who accuse him of having chosen a side in Argentine politics. If not to return to being unanimous, at least not to be received as a figure that he divides. Something that cannot be taken for granted.