A HOMELESS MAN SITS IN A PARK, 1998-12-04 (photo)

A homeless man sits alone in a park in Caracas December 4. Millions living below the poverty line in this oil dependent country, will place their trust in the charismatic failed coup leader, Hugo Chavez, in Venezuela's presidential elections December 6. The argument that Chavez's aggressive brand of populism could impoverish a country which is the second largest oil exporter in the world receives short shrift from people who feel they can sink no lower. Riding a tide of popular anger at falling living standards and notoriously corrupt political institutions, retired army officer Chavez is pitted in a tight race against Yale-educated Henrique Salas, whose reputation as an efficient state governor has made him the darling of the business community. KW/SV/WS