Sandra Torres, who divorced the president of Guatemala in order to be eligible for a presidential run in next month’s election, has been ruled out of the contest once and for all. One of Latin America’s weirdest political sagas finally came to an end when the Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that her marriage to Álvaro Colom, the current president, made her candidacy unconstitutional.

Guatemala’s constitution forbids the candidacy of close relatives of the president, including his spouse. Ms Torres, who has played an active role in Mr Colom’s government overseeing social welfare programmes, hoped to overcome this barrier with a quick divorce. The separation was granted in April, and Ms Torres’ face went up on election posters all over the country.

But her controversial candidacy quickly hit trouble. On July 30th the Supreme Court ruled against her, arguing that “This relationship exists, regardless of whether they are divorced.” The Torres camp appealed to the Constitutional Court, which rejected her bid late on August 8th after four days of private deliberation. Its seven members unanimously said that the constitutional prohibition “includes the president’s wife during his entire presidency.”

The debacle has left the ruling National Unity of Hope party without a candidate for the election on September 11th, since Mr Colom cannot run for re-election. Worse still, it is now too late for the party to pick another candidate. At the time of the divorce, Ms Torres said: “Love for Guatemala is the reason why the president and I put the interests of the country ahead of our own interests.” Many in her party must now feel that they did precisely the opposite.

The ruling makes Otto Pérez Molina, a former general who represents the right-wing Patriotic Party, the strong favourite to win. Mr Pérez was well in the lead even before this week’s events; with the elimination of Ms Torres, who was polling in second place, he faces little serious competition. Those on the left will feel frustrated that power looks set to return to the conservatives. They can at least take heart that whoever wins next month’s election will know that they cannot treat the constitution with contempt.

Source: The Economist (UK)