GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – Basking in the glory of a landslide in Guatemala’s presidential election, a former comedian with no government experience has some unorthodox policy plans: he will tag teachers with GPS trackers to ensure attendance and give poor kids smartphones.
Jimmy Morales, 46, who sailed to victory with 67.5 percent of the vote on an anti-corruption platform, has said little about how he would curb gang violence or stem the flow of migrants to the United States, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over key issues.
“No other candidate has been called everything from a clown to a populist, but the smartphone is the least populist (idea) that there is,” Morales said in an interview on Monday, the day after his massive win. He will take office in January.
He plans to start with a pilot programme in schools in 45 of Guatemala’s municipalities, and said it would cost the government nothing.
“We are going to give (the telephone companies) school and government walls to paint their brand logos on to compensate them,” said Morales, adding that he has been in contact with Telefonica, Tigo and Claro, some of the country’s largest telecom operators.
Morales rode a wave of voter outrage over a graft scandal that toppled former President Otto Perez last month, making the fight against corruption his central pledge and playing up his status as a political outsider.
