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Nine people died in Chivacoa, a farming village in central-western Venezuela after drinking home-made alcohol during the New Year’s celebrations. Another 16 people were hospitalized for “ethyl poisoning from an artisanal product not approved by the health authorities”, as confirmed by the governor of Yaracuy Julio Leon. The consumption of these low-cost artisan drinks has spread, especially in the working-class neighborhoods of large cities and in the villages of the interior of the country hit by an unprecedented economic crisis.