The League of Puerto Rican Cities to identify best practices in municipalities
- Liga de Ciudades de Puerto Rico
- Oct 9
- 3 min read
The organization begins a series of case studies with the Llanero Senior Challenge in Toa Baja.
(September 30, 2025 - San Juan) The League of Puerto Rican Cities presented a new initiative to document and disseminate good municipal practices around the island through successful case studies that can be emulated by other local governments.
The first example highlighted was the Llanero Senior Challenge in the municipality of Toa Baja, an innovative educational, sports, and community program that has benefited more than 1,500 students since 2019.
"At the League of Cities, we believe in the power of raising awareness and sharing programs that transform communities. We are aware of the great challenges, both social and economic, that our municipalities face, and in light of this, creative solutions must be sought. That is why we have taken on the task of identifying good practices that can be emulated by other municipalities and thus demonstrate how local governments can respond effectively to the needs of their people," said the League's founding executive director, Cristina Miranda.
The Llanero Senior Challenge emerged in Toa Baja in response to the need to financially support graduating classes, strengthen community integration, and promote the values of leadership, solidarity, inclusion, and teamwork among students.
What began as a competition between three public high schools has now expanded to 20 public and private schools, including elementary and middle schools, with the Llanero Junior Challenge and Llanero Kids Challenge programs.
The mayor of Toa Baja, Bernardo “Betito” Márquez, creator of the initiative, explained that “the goal is not to ask for money, but to earn it and transform need into resources. We wanted our young people not only to receive financial assistance, but also to have experiences that would motivate them to continue their studies and feel part of a supportive community.”
Schools faced various challenges in carrying out activities such as Achievement Day and Senior Prom due to factors such as the country's economic situation, the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and the consequences of the pandemic, among others. These difficulties led many families to choose not to participate in these events due to financial constraints.
As established in the case study, given this scenario, it was necessary to offer alternatives that not only facilitated access to these celebrations but also served as an incentive for students to continue their studies, despite the many challenges they faced.
Therefore, in fulfillment of its mission to strengthen the capacity of municipalities and highlight innovative solutions, the League of Cities identified an emblematic example in Toa Baja.
The League's director of operations, Edgar Gómez, stated that “by documenting this project as a case study, the League seeks not only to recognize municipal management, but also to make it available to other towns, offering a practical and replicable guide that promotes collective learning.”
The League of Cities will play an important role in sharing these results with other municipal agencies on the island. In turn, it will serve as a liaison between municipal governments that wish to establish the projects outlined.
The mayor reiterated that “we are extremely satisfied with the results of this initiative and that the League of Cities has identified its great value, reviewing it and presenting it to other municipalities as a healthy practice that serves a very important population on our island, namely students.”
The Llanero Senior Challenge combines academic, athletic, and artistic competitions with environmental initiatives such as coastal cleanup campaigns, which reinforce a sense of belonging and municipal pride. Through competitions between participating classes, it integrates staggered financial incentives that allow graduating classes to obtain funds for activities such as the Senior Prom and Achievement Day, ensuring that all participating groups receive support.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the League added that “this effort to highlight good municipal practices confirms the League's commitment to creating a library of municipal experiences that elevates the role of local governments as key players in the quality of life of Puerto Rican communities.”
The Puerto Rico League of Cities is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to strengthen the capacity of municipalities and communities to better address social, structural, fiscal, and governance challenges on the island. It also promotes inter-municipal collaboration, the exchange of innovative strategies, and capacity building that favors more efficient, accessible, and resilient public management.
A new case study with another identified and documented good practice is expected to be released in the coming weeks with the goal of establishing inspirational benchmarks for other local governments in Puerto Rico.
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