Thursday, March 24, 2011
Joyful divorcees Sandra Torres and Álvaro Colom
There are a lot of reasons why couples divorce, but the problem that motivated the president of Guatemala and his wife is unusual…the desire to create a political dynasty.
Guatemala’s first lady, Sandra Torres de Colom, wants so badly to run for her husband’s job that she’s willing to divorce him.
With the country’s constitution forbidding the president’s relatives from seeking the office, de Colon filed for divorce on March 11—three days after putting in her papers for the next presidential election.
The Guatemala Times reports “the divorce was applied in terms of mutual consent,” indicating President Álvaro Colom was not contesting the separation.
But plenty of others are opposed to the divorce strategy of Torres and Colom, including Catholic and evangelical church leaders who have condemned the move as immoral.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Guatemala’s Presidential Couple Applies for Divorce (Guatemala Times)
Illegality and Immorality of Guatemala´s Election Process (Guatemala Times)
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