Those who did manage to get into a public hospital, had to bring their own bed sheets, gauze, surgical gloves, aspirins and food.
Now, there are more than 20,000 Cuban doctors and nurses working in newly built clinics, with hundreds of child care centres and schools under construction.
When Chávez's record on these issues has come under attack, the response has been swift and well-documented (PDF 184KB).
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Throughout Latin America, Chávez's politics have gained Venezuela much support resulting in strong alliances with Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Cuba.
These countries, with Uruguay, have jointly launched regional projects such as TeleSur - a television network which aims to counter US cultural hegemony - and the Union of South American Nations (UnaSur), intended as the equivalent of the European Union.
Many of these projects are unprecedented in Latin America. They have their problems, but are making progress - thus clashing with Washington's traditional relationship with the region. And since the US cannot simply replace a supplier of oil like Venezuela overnight, Caracas, for now, does have much room to manoeuvre.
On January 18, 2005, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, before the Senate of Foreign Relations Committee, described Chávez as a "negative force in the region", that ought to be "exposed", and insisted he be informed his "behaviour is really not acceptable".
Move beyond the sound bytes and Chávez's overly rhetorical style, and it's clear where Condoleezza Rice is really coming from. Based on the history of US-Venezuelan relations, if Chávez truly were a dictator, then Washington would have no trouble doing business with him.
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