Brighton Hands Off Venezuela was started in April 2006 after local people met up and decided to set up a local group to campaign in defence of the revolutionary process in Venezuela. After watching the inspirational Irish documentary, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, there was a wide-ranging discussion on what could be done. The meeting came out of an earlier talk on Venezuela given by Espe Espigares of the national HOV campaign to the Brighton Hands Off group, which organises discussions around Iraq and other anti-war issues.
Those present at the launch of Brighton HOVe came from a variety of campaign groups, trade unions, community and political organisations and NGOs, as well as just concerned individuals anxious to learn more and support the efforts of the Venezuelan people to develop their own alternatives to the market fundamentalism that has wreaked such havoc on the peoples of Latin America and many other parts of the world.
Brighton HOV defined itself as follows:
"Brighton Hand Off Venezuela supports the right of the Venezuelan people to decide their own future free from foreign interference."