Bolivia's apparent president-elect, &to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/16643_Morales.html' target=_blank>Evo Morales, said Tuesday he would not allow unlimited production of coca, the crop used to produce cocaine, but would also study whether production should be expanded.
"There won't be the free cultivation of the coca leaf," Morales said at a press conference, where he also called on the U.S. government to enter into an agreement to "truly" fight &to=http://english.pravda.ru/society/2001/09/28/16594.html' target=_blank>drug trafficking.
Morales, a coca grower who campaigned against a U.S.-backed coca eradication effort, gave few details about how he would control illegal trafficking.
He said the government should have carried out a referendum in coca-growing areas a decade ago to consult with people on how to impose controls. "It's important to listen to the people," he said.
He said his drug policy will be "zero cocaine and zero drug trafficking, but not zero coca or zero cocaleros," Morales said.
The government currently restricts coca production and has tried to carry out an aggressive, U.S.-funded effort to limit the crop.
Morales also said the government would study whether to increase the amount of coca legally grown for traditional consumption. Current laws permit coca cultivation in 29,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of the Yungas valley and a small amount in the Chapare region.
Most is grown on small family plots. For thousands of years, people in the Andes have chewed coca to stave off hunger or as a medicinal herb. It is also sold commercially as a tea in Bolivia.
While final results of Sunday's election have not been released, Bolivia's government on Tuesday acknowledged that Morales is Bolivia's apparent president-elect, reports AP.
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