In a well-timed counterpoint to the largely negative critique offered by the United Nations Development Agency (PNUD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) has hailed the DR for its increased expenditures directed toward the eradication of poverty. CEPAL is also a UN dependency. The PNUD report, published earlier the week, found that an insufficient percentage of GNP was being directed toward social welfare programs. Currently "6% or 7%" is being spent, while 14% would be optimal, according to the report. The DR was also criticized for its lavish pension programs for retired civil servants, and for allowing a disproportionate amount of government spending to benefit the middle and upper classes. The CEPAL document places the DR in a small group of hemisphere countries that have substantially increased social welfare spending in recent years. The DR also received high marks for reducing "the magnitude and severity of poverty." Together with Mexico, Cuba and Central American nations, the DR has notably boosted GNP.
