Minister of Economy Sergio Massa received explicit support for his presidential candidacy from half of the governors of Argentina's provinces.

The ruling party's hopeful took a photo with the leaders of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Formosa, Entre Ríos, Tucumán, Misiones, Chubut, Catamarca, Santa Cruz, Chaco and Salta.

All belong to the government coalition Unión por la Patria, which brings together Peronism for this year's elections.

The meeting in Buenos Aires was also attended by Massa's running mate, current cabinet chief Agustín Rossi.

During the meeting it was also announced that the current Minister of the Interior, Eduardo de Pedro, will be the campaign manager for Unión por la Patria.

One of the governors, Sergio Zilliotto from Pampa, said that the Massa-Rossi ticket "aims for an inclusive model of a country that defends national industry".

The next stop on the electoral calendar is 13 August, when the open and compulsory primaries will be held.

This will determine the candidates for the general elections on 22 October.

If necessary, there will be a run-off election between the two most popular candidates on 19 November.

The new President will take office on 10 December.