HUGO CHAVEZ -- A 44-year-old retired army officer who led a bloody attempt to topple the Venezuelan government nearly seven years ago. Pardoned after two years in jail for the February 1992 putsch, Chavez is running on a populist anti-establishment platform that has struck a chord with Venezuelans frustrated with falling living standards and rampant corruption.

HENRIQUE SALAS -- A 62-year-old former businessman whose presidential bid is founded on two widely respected terms as governor of his native industrial Carabobo state. His program emphasizes the benefits of slimline, efficient government with the transfer of public services to the local level and privatization of many state-run concerns, including the postal service and prisons.

LUIS ALFARO -- A lifelong politician who emerged from the shadows to take on the presidential nomination of Venezuela's oldest and traditionally most dominant political party, center-left Democratic Action (AD). A former traveling salesman with little formal education, he joined AD at an early age and worked his way up through its ranks with a ruthless style that earned him

IRENE SAEZ -- A former Miss Universe, 36, who was the country's most popular political figure at the turn of the year but has since plunged to a distant fourth place in opinion polls. Saez, running as an independent, is respected for her strong convictions and popular touch. But critics label her a political lightweight who struggled with tough interviewers and was more concerned with image than policy.