Venezuelan politician raffles breast implants

A Venezuelan politician is offering breast implants as a prize in a raffle to raise funds for his election campaign, a newspaper said on Friday.

“There are critics but also some people think it’s a nice idea,” Gustavo Rojas, an opposition candidate for a National Assembly position, told El Universal newspaper.

Cosmetic surgery, especially breast enlargement, is widespread in image-conscious Venezuela, whose beauty queens have won numerous international pageant titles.

Even a recession has not diminished Venezuelans’ appetite for cosmetic surgery with many people taking out loans for the surgery.

Rojas, of the opposition First Justice party, said he was not too worried about the medical details of his offer.

“The raffle is a financing mechanism, nothing else,” he told El Universal. “It’s the doctor who will do the operation, not me.”

Venezuelans vote on September 26 for a new parliament.