(Venezuelanalysis.com) - "Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced the construction of 15 new hospitals across the country. The new hospitals, along with the remodeling of existing hospitals, make up the third and fourth phases of the Barrio Adentro (Inside the Barrio) health program. The Chávez government's social programs, such as Barrio Adentro, have benefited nearly 50 percent of Venezuelan households according to a recent survey.

Chávez announced the new hospitals at the inauguration of the remodeled and reequipped Pérez Carreño hospital in Caracas. The 15 new hospitals will be general care hospitals, but each will have a specialization, according to Chávez. The president gave as examples the hospital to be built in El Vigia, in the state of Merida, which will specialize in Gastroenterology, and the hospital in Guarenas, in the state of Miranda, which will specialize in cancer treatment. Hospitals will also be built in the states of Barinas, Apure, Anzoátegui, Cojedes, Aragua, Carabobo, Guárico, and Bolívar.

As a part of the Barrio Adentro health program, these new hospitals make up the fourth phase of the health program. The third phase, launched in 2006, is the upgrading and remodeling of existing hospitals such as the Pérez Carreño hospital that Chávez inaugurated. These hospitals receive improvements in their infrastructure as well as new medical equipment and facilities.

'We have seen equipment that did not exist in Venezuela before, now for the service of all Venezuelans,' said Chávez at the Pérez Carreño hospital. 'Some of them have been installed and operated for the first time. This, combined with high quality medical personnel, is the perfect combination of man and machine.'

The Pérez Carreño hospital was equipped with a new emergency room with capacity to treat 66 patients simultaneously, two operating rooms, and two recovery rooms, as well as a variety of state-of-the-art technology. Chávez commented that this model emergency room is 'number one, not only in Venezuela , but on this region. It would be difficult to find an emergency service as good as this one.'

According to Health Minister Jesús Mantilla, the Venezuelan government has approved a total of Bs. 1,355 billion (US$ 631 million) for the remodeling and upgrading of 62 public hospitals across the country. The minister said that more hospitals will be incorporated into the project as the program advances.

'All of the people need preventative, healing, quality care that is efficient and free,' said Chávez. 'This is a truly revolutionary concept.'

The social programs of the Chávez' government that include health, nutrition, and education programs have reached 47.7 percent of Venezuelan homes according to a recent survey by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV). The study showed that 62.3 percent of low-income homes benefit from the programs, while only 22 percent of middle class homes have been reached. The study also showed that general well-being among the Venezuelan population had improved from 1997 to 2005.

Chávez also cited results of a recent survey that showed he enjoys the support of 70 percent of the population.

'Imagine if we could increase the efficiency in the general management of the government,' said Chávez. 'If we could do a better follow up on things, if we were more efficient, our support would get as high as 90 percent.'

Chávez also cited results that show that 35 percent of Venezuelans say they prefer a socialist system, while 40 percent support a social democracy, and only 5 percent prefer a capitalist system.

But Chávez claimed that the survey was poorly designed since it asked the question as if socialism was different from democracy.

'The new socialism isn't the dictatorship of the proletariat, it's democracy', he said".