MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s environment minister has resigned for health reasons and will be replaced by the welfare minister, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday, after a cabinet dispute over the herbicide glyphosate.
Environment Minister Victor Manuel Toledo last week withdrew from his position citing poor health and stress, Lopez Obrador said.
Lopez Obrador said Toledo’s decision to leave pre-dated the fight over glyphosate.
Toledo, a strong critic of glyphosate, had criticized the government for internal contradictions over its use in a leaked audio recording.
“We’re not all made to stand up to pressure,” Lopez Obrador told his daily news conference on Wednesday. “He is a first-rate guy.”
Welfare Minister Maria Luisa Albores will take Toledo’s post and be replaced by her deputy minister, Javier May.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Adriana Barrera; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
