Currency controls can have devastating impacts on a nation’s economy and culture; they have created a two-tier economy in Cuba, enriched the military generals in Nigeria at the expense of democratic order, and prevented Iceland from lifting itself out of the global financial crisis.
But now things are getting serious. In Venezuela, restrictive currency controls have made some brand-name FDA approved products impossible to source, including the cultural custom of the breast implant.
Ramon Zapata, president of the Society of Plastic Surgeons, has been quoted as saying, “the women are complaining… Venezuelan women are very concerned with their self-esteem.”
Venezuela has long been one of the cosmetic surgery capitals of the world, even having a common practice of giving implants to girls for their fifteenth birthdays, which the late President Hugo Chavez called “monstrous”.
Apart from the self-esteem of Venezuelan women, this could lead to the decline in one of Venezuela’s most iconic exports; winners of the Miss World and Miss Universe competitions.
