CANDIDATE SALAS SPEAKS TO THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS, 1998-12-04 (photo)

Former Venezuelan state governor and Yale-educated economist and presidential candidate, Henrique Salas, gives a press conference in his campaign headquarters, December 4. Riding a tide of anger at falling living standards and notoriously corrupt political institutions, the retired army officer and leading presidential candidate Hugo Chavez, is pitted in a tight race in Venezuela's December 6 presidential elections. He is running against Independent Henrique Salas, whose reputation as an efficient state governor has made him the darling of the business community. KW/LJM/WS