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First lady in Argentina poll bid

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner likes to be known as the "first citizen"

Argentina's first lady, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has launched her campaign to become the country's first elected woman president.

Mrs Kirchner promised change but also pledged to continue what she called the re-founding of the nation.

She announced her candidacy in July after President Nestor Kirchner said he would not be standing for re-election.

Polls say she has a good chance of victory in October but rows denting the government's image may also affect her.

In a speech at a theatre in the city of La Plata, Mrs Kirchner promised more jobs and less poverty.

She said Argentina must overcome its culture of failure and provide its citizens with a sense of economic security.

She said her husband had been responsible for rebuilding the democratic constitutional state, and for restoring the self-esteem of the nation.

Mrs Kirchner's speech was greeted by hundreds of enthusiastic supporters.

Energy crisis

Mrs Kirchner does not like to be called "first lady", preferring instead "first citizen", the BBC's Latin American affairs analyst Martin Murphy says.

Many Argentines believe President Kirchner is doing a good job

She is a senator for the province of Buenos Aires and has her own political clout.

But having taken the place of her husband as the government's candidate for the 28 October election means that whatever the government does is reflected upon her, our analyst says.

As such, he says that the launch of her campaign does not come at a good time.

On Monday, the economy minister resigned after an investigation was ordered into the discovery of $64,000 (£31,000) in cash in the toilet in her office. She denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Argentina faces an energy crisis in the middle of one of the worst winters in the past 100 years.

Many Argentines believe the government is not doing enough to solve this crisis and they also complain about rising prices, even though government figures show inflation is under control.

But apart from these problems, polls suggest that almost half of the population believes President Kirchner is doing a good job.

According to official figures, since the economic crisis of 2001, unemployment and poverty have gone down, while GDP and public investment have gone up.

Mrs Kirchner's campaign will surely benefit from this, as well as from the lack of a united and strong opposition, our analyst says.