From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Hugo Chavez, oil and political power.

Hello again, I'm Orin Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

The King of Spain has asked Hugo Chavez to shut up, but the president of Venezuela is making his voice heard at home and around the world.

On Sunday, voters may give him new powers and the chance to be re-elected for the rest of his life.

Some former supporters call it dictatorship in the making. On to the point,

we'll find out why socialism for the 21st century has made Chavez so popular, especially with the

poor. We'll hear about billions for neighboring countries' friendships with Castro and

Amadinijad and hostility to the United States. On reporter's notebook later on,

America's hurricane season goes out with a whimper.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation

and the John D. and Catherine

T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. At the UN, Venezuelan

President Hugo Chavez called George Bush the devil. He's reached out to Fidel Castro and

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On Sunday, voters may give him new powers and extend his influence for a long

time to come.

On To the Point, we'll hear what that could mean for his country, the region, and the interests of the United States.

On Reporters' Notebook, despite predictions this year's hurricanes bypassed the southeastern United States,

will future warnings be to be prepared fall on deaf ears?

...