Guatemala Leader Says Divorce is 'Sacrifice' for Nation

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said Tuesday his decision to divorce his wife so she can run for president is a "real sacrifice" for the good of the country.

"We are making a real sacrifice, and it will be a real divorce, with physical separation," he said in an interview with Mexico's Televisa.

"We put the stability and the governance of the country" ahead of our personal situation, he added.

Colom and his wife Sandra Torres filed for divorce on March 11 to avoid a constitutional obstacle to her running for the presidency.

Torres, who announced her candidacy earlier this month, is supported by an alliance of the governing National Unity of Hope (UNE) party and the right-wing Grand National Alliance (GANA).

Opponents had argued that Torres could not run because the constitution forbids close blood relatives of the president and those of a "second level of affinity" from seeking the office.

The main right-wing Patriot Party (PP) opposition candidate, Otto Perez Molina, has called the divorce a "fraud."

The divorce papers, which indicated a mutual desire for separation, came despite previous comments from the president that divorce was not an option and that his wife was eligible to run.

Torres has said she decided to run "for the people, for my country, for the elderly, children, disabled, abandoned, orphaned, for all the needy in Guatemala."

When asked if he would remarry Torres if she is elected, Colom replied: "Only God knows."