Perez de Leon is a public hospital in Petare, one of Caracas's most dangerous areas.

NPR: Cuban Doctors Staff Venezuela's Free Clinics

But doctors at Perez de Leon in Petare say they are disillusioned with the government's promises for better hospitals.

NPR: Cuban Doctors Staff Venezuela's Free Clinics

The programs, called misiones sociales, have measurably reduced poverty in places like Petare.

CNN: Making the poor count -- a Hugo Chavez legacy

Petare, a shantytown in western Caracas, is a painfully sobering example.

CNN: Making the poor count -- a Hugo Chavez legacy

Residents have started ambushing gas-delivery trucks, diverting them to Petare.

ECONOMIST: Venezuela's strike

Shopkeepers in Petare say that takings are well below normal.

ECONOMIST: Venezuela's strike

After all, a 22-year-old single mother of two in Petare, Chapeu Mangueira, Chimalhuacan or Ciudad Bolivar, doesn't care about macroeconomic policies or free market economies, but about a leader who will make it possible to feed her children tomorrow.

CNN: Making the poor count -- a Hugo Chavez legacy