Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ? President Bush urged the nations of the Western Hemisphere on Monday to work together to prevent governments in the region from backsliding to authoritarian rule.

Venezuela’s foreign minister said the U.S. seemed to be aiming at his country.

Bush, in a brief speech to the Organization of American States, said that Cuba was the only country in the hemisphere that was not democratic. He pushed for expanded trade and said the nations of the Americas needed to choose between two visions for their future: one of hope or one of rolling back “the democratic progress of the past two decades.”

The president didn’t mention President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who has acted in ways the Bush administration has described as undemocratic.

However, the United States has submitted a draft proposal calling on the OAS secretary general to issue a report outlining a “plan of action” for strengthening the democratic charter so the organization can deal more effectively with countries struggling with threats to democratic rule.

Other countries have submitted alternate proposals, and the delegates hope to agree on a compromise in time for the conclusion of the conference today.

At a news conference after Bush’s speech, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez said that although the U.S. proposal was not explicit, “it seems aimed at one country” – his own.

In a speech before Bush’s arrival, Rodriguez said the OAS charter was clear in demanding a policy of nonintervention in the internal affairs of member states.

Earlier, Venezuelan Ambassador Jorge Valero denounced the proposal, saying it was aimed at turning the OAS into the policeman of hemispheric democracies. And in a weekly radio address, Chavez – a foe of Bush and friend of Cuban President Fidel Castro – said the proposal amounted to U.S. meddling in the affairs of other nations.

“The times in which the OAS was an instrument of the government in Washington are gone,” Chavez said.