CARACAS, (Reuters) – A passion for locally brewed Polar beer was one of the few things that bound Venezuelans together in the politically fractious country — until now.
A campaign by President Hugo Chavez against Empresas Polar, the Latin American nation’s largest food and drinks maker, is politicizing one of its favorite drinks.
Chavez accuses the conglomerate of billionaire Lorenzo Mendoza of being part of a group of private companies he says are trying to destabilize his socialist government by, among other things, keeping inflation artificially high.
“If you think I won’t dare to nationalize Empresas Polar, you are wrong,” Chavez said in a televised speech this week. “Get down from your cloud, Mendoza. Here in Venezuela there are no untouchables, no sacred cows.”
