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Peru: President asks for Cabinet to resign

LIMA, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo asked his entire Cabinet to resign Thursday after Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero resigned, El Comercio reported online.

Toledo said after the ministers handed in their resignations he would determine which he would re-appoint.

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The controversial move came hours after Ferrero resigned, apparently to protest Toledo's appointment of Fernando Olivera as Peru's new foreign minister.

The prime minister and Olivera have clashed over the subject of cultivating coca, the plant used to make cocaine. Olivera is in favor of expanding legalized coca leaf production, while Ferrero is against it, El Comercio said.

Peru's indigenous people can legally grow coca in limited quantities for traditional use.

House Minister Carlos Bruce also reportedly stepped down in protest of the Olivera appointment.

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