Python code goes in, LLVM IR comes out. Sounds like a compiler to me.
As you know, the basic idea of the project is to make writing fast, vectorized code for numerical and scientific computations as easy as writing native Python. And to do it in a way that maintains compatibility with the extensive CPython universe.
I think the criticism you're fishing for is that it is not an implementation of Python. No, it's not that. But, yes, it is a compiler.
No, it's not. There is one more requirement - the LLVM IR has to work exactly the same as intended for python (in this case as cpython does). This is not the case - it's not full and what's implemented does not support all the corner cases of the language, starting with overflow-to-long.
As you know, the basic idea of the project is to make writing fast, vectorized code for numerical and scientific computations as easy as writing native Python. And to do it in a way that maintains compatibility with the extensive CPython universe.
I think the criticism you're fishing for is that it is not an implementation of Python. No, it's not that. But, yes, it is a compiler.