In 1967 George Wallace wasn’t allowed to run for re-election as Governor of Alabama, so his wife ran (and won) instead.
That couldn’t happen in Guatemala, where the President’s spouse is barred from running to succeed him. That’s why the current First Lady is seeking a divorce:
Guatemala’s constitution prohibits members of a president’s extended family from running for the presidency.
Judiciary spokesman Edwin Escobar says divorce proceedings began on Monday between Sandra Torres de Colom and President Alvaro Colom, who cannot run for re-election.
If both parties agree, the divorce could be final in about a month.
Torres announced March 8 that she will be the presidential candidate of the governing National Unity for Hope party in the September election.
