Venezuela's 'beer war' mirrors hostile politics

Running short of raw materials in mid-2015, Venezuela's two biggest beer makers Polar and Regional publicly chided the socialist government for delays in releasing foreign currency to import hops, barley and tin for cans. Their stance in a joint communique angered President Nicolas Maduro's administration, which allocates dollars to businesses under currency controls that are a cornerstone of Venezuela's state-led economic model, beer industry sources said.But it then dealt with the two companies very differently. More…