Some of you may have heard that late last month Guatemala was in the news. No, it wasn’t because of some natural disaster of any kind. It was because of divorce. Wait a minute! This was no ordinary divorce. Well, I should say the divorce was ordinary, but the circumstance surrounding it was something out of those wonderful telenovelas you find on the Spanish channels.
Ms. Sandra Torres de Colom was the First Lady of Guatemala. The courts granted her a legal divorce from her husband. Why you might ask? Was she in a loveless marriage and wanted out? Was she having an affair that she wanted to pursue? It was none of that. In fact, Torres reports she was leaving a “loving marriage.” She left to run for election to become Guatemala’s next president.
Now there are two things you should take to heart before discounting this story as a “so what, who cares.” Guatemala, like many Latin American countries have deep devout religion – mostly Roman Catholic. Divorce goes against the churches’ teachings and against what God has commanded when two people make that life-long covenant together. The other thing that is very important to this story is Guatemala’s constitution created a barrier for her. Their constitution prohibits any family member of a sitting president to run for election of that same office.
Logically, this would make sense to have a provision in the constitution to dissuade from creating a dictatorship of sorts by keeping all of the power in one family and its family members. But nowadays, is it necessary to have it? Women in the United States and many other places have made great advances. Such laws preclude them for rising up to become the strong women they are meant to be.
On the flip side, Torres has put shame on her family and will be prohibited from receiving Communion as the church looks down on divorce of any kind and for any reason. By publically doing this, it may have stopped many from supporting her. To make the sacred bond between two people so weak and cheap by divorcing just to run for an election is beyond everyday people’s comprehension. Such a move has made a mockery of the institution of marriage and the church.
Torres may say she is the first woman to divorce for her country, but is that still right to do? Or with divorce being common everyday realities, is this perfectly acceptable? What do you think? Click on the “Comments” link below and tells us what you think about this very bold issue. Did Torres make the right move? Did she hurt her chances at being elected? Should Guatemala amend their constitution to allow family members to run for the office of president? Share your thoughts. Until next time, hasta luego!
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