Papers of Vladimir Chelminski, former Executive Director of the Caracas (Venezuela) Chamber of Commerce

Hoover has recently opened most of a major collection on modern Venezuela, beginning more than two decades before the election of Hugo Chavez as president in December 1998 and continuing through 2008. It was assembled by Vladimir Chelminski, who for 24 years was the executive director of the Caracas Chamber of Commerce and an active participant in classical liberal circles around the country. The collection is in forty-five manuscript boxes, two of which are currently closed. It includes notes, correspondence, printed matter and video tapes on economic, social and political conditions in Venezuela over more than three decades. The issues covered range from a year-by-year account of the development of classical liberalism and libertarianism in Venezuela to documents from and commentary on broader national conditions, often with an emphasis on the business community, particularly since Chavez began his presidency in early 1999.