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Ale no! Brewery strike threatens to leave Venezuela with a national beer drought

Beer is in danger of being in short supply in Venezuela (picture credit: Flickr)

Venezuela is facing a serious beer drought after workers at the country’s flagship brewer went on strike.

Staff at Polar - who make the nation’s most popular beer - downed tools last Wednesday as a row over pay became increasingly ugly.

Half of the firm’s breweries are now temporarily closed. Others are operating at a reduced capacity and 16 of its distribution centres have been shut.

It’s sparked fears that the beverage could disappear altogether from the shelves in coming months if the dispute isn’t resolved, according to El Pais.

Unions say Polar has refused to recognise workers’ rights. Workers marched through the capital Caracas on Thursday, and demanded government intervention.

Beer is the latest shortage to hit Venezuela. It comes after the country was hit by rationing of milk, sugar, medicines and even toilet paper in recent years.

It’s because Venezuela has tight controls on basic goods to make sure the poorer elements of society can afford them.

But businesses say high production costs mean they can’t operate, leading to food and material shortages.

President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly threatened to expropriate Polar, owned by Lorenzo Mendoza, as part of the country’s Socialist revolution.