The Proyecto de Apoyo a las Iniciativas Democráticas (PID), which is sponsored by the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), has invested RD$52 million to finance efforts to strengthen democracy in the country. Licenciado Radhamés Mejía, vice rector of the PUCMM, said that the PID has made disbursements in favor of 70 programs and some 1,442 institutions that are working to strengthen the democratic system. Radhamés Mejía was speaking at an event held in the auditorium of the university to mark the organization’s fourth anniversary. Also participating in the event were Mu-Kien Sang Ben, director of the PID; U.S. Ambassador Donna Hrinak, and the director of the USAID in the D.R., Marilyn Zak. Recently a major controversy surrounded the program, as Cardinal López Rodríguez condemned the pressures brought by its financial backers and called for the PUCMM to abandon its coordinating role.