Supporters of the Venezuelan revolution held a meeting at Cardiff University on Wednesday evening. This meeting was held in order to explain the significance of events that have taken place in Venezuela over the last 10 years, to debunk the myths about Chavez and the revolutionary process he is leading, and to spread the message that is coming out of Latin America: that there is an alternative to capitalism in the 21^st century - socialism.

Hands off Venezuela member Fred Weston, editor of the ‘In Defence of Marxism' website of the International Marxist Tendency, talked about the impact Hands off Venezuela has had internationally and in Venezuela.

Students and local supporters of the campaign listened to Fred explain the origins of the Bolivarian movement and the hypocritical cries of Western governments and the big-business media over claims of ‘dictatorial tendencies' of President Chavez, and the inability of these governments to tolerate even the mildest reforms for the benefits of the Venezuelan people.

"Unless these people are expropriated, they will use their control of the means of production to sabotage the economy, because their aim is not just to remove Chavez from power, but they want to dismantle all the reforms that have been carried out over the last 10 years, role everything back and re-establish a government firmly under the control of the bourgeoisie and US and EU imperialism", Fred explained in relation to the current economic chaos being carried out by the local oligarchy in Venezuela. Listen to Fred Weston's introduction here and summing up here .

Afterwards there was a lively discussion and contributions from many people eager to know more about the current situation, and what they can do in solidarity to help protect the revolution. Joining Hands off Venezuela is the first step, and carrying the message of the move towards socialism throughout the Labour movement.