01.06.2022 Views

Annual Report 2020-2021

After a year of growth, La Liga continues to establish itself as a crucial organization for Puerto Rico's municipalities. From collaborations to new projects and initiatives, La Liga has worked and continues to work to ensure more autonomy and resources for municipalities and their communities.

After a year of growth, La Liga continues to establish itself as a crucial organization for Puerto Rico's municipalities. From collaborations to new projects and initiatives, La Liga has worked and continues to work to ensure more autonomy and resources for municipalities and their communities.

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

{2010) Foto por Eric Pancer via CreativeCommons


info@ligadeciudadespr.com<br />

https://www.ligadeciudadespr.com/<br />

@ligadeciudadespr<br />

@ligadeciudadespr<br />

@LigaCiudadesPR<br />

http://linkedin.com/company/liga-de-ciudades-de-puerto-rico/<br />

Escanea para visitar<br />

nuestra página web<br />

i<br />

Designed by Andrea P. Vázquez Colón<br />

Translated by Samiris Suleimán Orozco and revised by Alison Chopel


"Municipalism is a collectivist ideology that<br />

recognizes that in order to achieve<br />

transformational change, it is essential to<br />

collaborate with all the entities and stakeholders<br />

that make up the municipality, or the municipal<br />

ecosystem composed of the various actors and<br />

stakeholders. Municipalism also recognizes the<br />

importance of the town or city as the uniting<br />

entity of people, since it is the space in which<br />

they live and develop, both personally and<br />

professionally. Municipalism is an approach used<br />

to implement social and systemic change, using<br />

the municipality as the vehicle to achieve the<br />

desired change."<br />

–La Liga de Ciudades de Puerto Rico, <strong>2021</strong><br />

ii


Hon. Juan Carlos García Padilla<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Coamo<br />

Hon. Pedro Juan García Figueroa<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Hormigueros<br />

Hon. Bernardo "Betito" Márquez García<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Toa Baja<br />

Cristina M. Miranda Palacios<br />

Founding Executive Director<br />

Hon. Javier Jiménez Pérez<br />

Mayor, Municipality of San Sebastián<br />

Following the elections of the new board held last November 18, <strong>2021</strong>,<br />

a new board of directors was established composed of:<br />

<br />

Hon. Juan Carlos García Padilla<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Coamo<br />

Hon. José A. "Josian" Santiago Rivera<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Comerío<br />

Hon. Rosachely Rivera Santana<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Gurabo<br />

Hon. Jesús E. "Gardy" Colón Berlingeri<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Orocovis<br />

Hon. Bernardo "Betito" Márquez García<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Toa Baja<br />

Cristina M. Miranda Palacios<br />

Founding Executive Director<br />

​Hon. Pedro Juan García Figueroa<br />

Mayor, Municipality of Hormigueros<br />

iii


iv


Greetings! I am extremely proud to shareLa Liga’s<br />

achievements of <strong>2021</strong> with you. In <strong>2021</strong>, despite it being a<br />

complicated year, we were able to continue to reap important<br />

successes and collaborations. We act from our definition of<br />

municipalism, which is "a political ideology, neither electoral nor<br />

partisan, whose main objective is to provide greater autonomy to<br />

municipalities, aiming for systemic change and equity in the<br />

distribution of resources and responsibilities."<br />

We see influencing public policy as a central axis of action, to<br />

ensure the necessary resources are allocated to the<br />

municipalities to enable them to attend to all their<br />

responsibilities, including those left unattended by the central<br />

government. Therefore, one of our main goals is the<br />

decentralization of public administration.<br />

We operate from a collectivist approach that recognizes that to<br />

achieve the required changes, we must work with all the entities<br />

and stakeholders that make up the municipal ecosystem. We<br />

work hard to contribute to improving the living conditions of all<br />

residents of Puerto Rico, including promoting initiatives focused<br />

on improving the socio-economic, cultural, and environmental<br />

conditions that envelop our communities. To defend the<br />

municipalities is to defend the nation.<br />

In the following pages, you will not only find a summary of<br />

what we have achieved during <strong>2021</strong>, but also<br />

information about our upcoming initiatives. We<br />

continue working steadily promoting a true<br />

municipalist agenda, which is the nation's<br />

agenda. We hope you will join us: to design,<br />

act, and transform. You are all welcomed.<br />

Cristina M. Miranda Palacios, MCP, CHP<br />

Directora Ejecutiva Fundadora<br />

v


Miembros de la Junta Directiva 2022-2024 conversan antes de la Primera<br />

Reunión de la Junta 2022. | Foto tomada por Francisco Rodríguez Burns<br />

The year <strong>2021</strong> was full of great<br />

opportunities and changes for La Liga.<br />

From the inauguration of the Municipal<br />

Capacity Building Institute (known by its<br />

initials in Spanish, ICAMU for Instituto de<br />

Capacitación Municipal), to new<br />

partnerships, increased funding<br />

opportunities, and the election of a new<br />

Board. The past year brought abundant<br />

growth for the organization. However,<br />

the challenges have kept pace with the<br />

successes, mainly in performing with a<br />

limited budget. Still, thanks to new<br />

funding opportunities and, following the<br />

approval of our 501(c)3 status, we<br />

anticipate further expansion of projects<br />

and work throughout the next year.<br />

vi


ABOUT<br />

LIGA LA


The League of Puerto Rican Cities (known as La Liga<br />

in Spanish), is a non-profit, non-partisan, nonelectoral,<br />

but political organization that unites local<br />

governments to improve the quality of life of the<br />

Puerto Rican people.<br />

To strengthen the capacity of Puerto<br />

Rican municipalities and communities<br />

to better address social, structural,<br />

fiscal, and governance challenges.<br />

Transparency and accountability.<br />

Citizen participation.<br />

Learning, collaboration, and leadership with<br />

service to the people.<br />

9


DECENTRALIZATION<br />

Maximize state government resources<br />

by promoting administrative, political,<br />

and fiscal decentralization of<br />

responsibilities and resources to local<br />

governments.<br />

PUBLIC POLICY<br />

Promote and influence public policies<br />

at the state and federal levels that<br />

ensure the welfare and development<br />

of local governments.<br />

NEW MODELS OF GOVERNANCE<br />

Foster civic engagement in all Puerto<br />

Rico’s communities by promoting<br />

new models of participatory<br />

governance, transparency, and<br />

accountability.<br />

EMPOWERMENT AND TRAINING<br />

Empower municipalities to better<br />

access and maximize federal and state<br />

funds.<br />

BEST PRACTICES<br />

Share best practices and experiences<br />

between local and international<br />

governments and build capacity and<br />

skills among them to address social,<br />

fiscal, infrastructure, and governance<br />

challenges.<br />

10


Open<br />

govern–<br />

ment and<br />

transpa–<br />

rency<br />

Attention<br />

to youth<br />

and elder<br />

matters<br />

Public<br />

health<br />

Legal<br />

advocacy<br />

Public<br />

policy<br />

advocacy<br />

Education<br />

Datadriven<br />

decision<br />

making<br />

Maximi–<br />

zation and<br />

access to<br />

funds<br />

Economic<br />

develop–<br />

ment<br />

Revitaliza–<br />

tion<br />

Fiscal<br />

autonomy<br />

Participa–<br />

tory<br />

planning<br />

Infrastruc–<br />

ture<br />

Municipal<br />

empower–<br />

ment<br />

<br />

Safe and<br />

affordable<br />

housing<br />

Environ–<br />

mental<br />

awareness<br />

and<br />

protection<br />

<br />

11


"La Liga de Ciudades [...] is an excellent<br />

initiative that helps us to unify efforts, to<br />

learn and to train ourselves to make our<br />

public management even better."<br />

Hon. Rosachely Rivera Santana,<br />

Mayor of the municipality of Gurabo.<br />

"La Liga de Ciudades comes to occupy a very<br />

important space in our current Puerto Rico… of<br />

how to identify [and face] the most pressing<br />

problems of the communities."<br />

Hon. Pedro J. García Figueroa,<br />

Mayor of the municipality of Hormigueros<br />

"La Liga de Ciudades is a project of hope. It is a<br />

project where we connect mayors from<br />

different partisan factions and set an agenda<br />

for the country.”<br />

Hon. Bernardo "Betito" Márquez García,<br />

Mayor of the municipality of Toa Baja.<br />

"My call to my fellow mayors is that they join La<br />

Liga because they will have an enormous<br />

benefit in the technical-scientific part that we<br />

municipalities need."<br />

Hon. Jesús E. Colón Berlingeri,<br />

Mayor of the municipality of Orocovis<br />

"I have been part of La Liga since its beginnings<br />

since I believe that a true municipalist agenda can<br />

be promoted [...] that has as its main objective to<br />

provide greater autonomy to the municipalities."<br />

Hon. Juan C. García Padilla,<br />

Mayor of the municipality of Coamo<br />

"From La Liga, we promote initiatives that are not<br />

only necessary, but transformative, informed in<br />

best practices and seeking solutions that affect us,<br />

and therefore affect our communities and the<br />

country."<br />

Hon. José A. "Josian" Santiago Rivera,<br />

Mayor of the municipality of Comerío<br />

12


Municipalism<br />

noun, fem. sing.<br />

1. Based on a model of governance focused<br />

on the local level. It means a political ideology, neither electoral<br />

nor partisan, whose main objective is to provide greater autonomy<br />

to municipalities, based on systemic change and equity in the<br />

distribution of resources and responsibilities. It also acknowledges<br />

the importance of influencing public policy issues as the central<br />

axis of action, to be able to allocate the necessary resources to the<br />

municipalities and recognize the responsibilities that should be<br />

delegated to them; thus, understanding that "municipalism" has one<br />

of its main goals: the decentralization of public administration.<br />

This ideology is a collectivist one that recognizes that to achieve<br />

the required changes, it is necessary to work with all the entities<br />

and stakeholders that make up the municipality, meaning the<br />

municipal ecosystem is composed of the various actors and<br />

stakeholders. Municipalism also recognizes the importance of the<br />

city as the entity that brings people together, since it is the space<br />

in which they live and develop, both personally and professionally.<br />

Based on this recognition and given the reality of the diversity of<br />

needs of the communities and inhabitants of each municipality, the<br />

municipalism adopted by La Liga is based on the model of social<br />

determinants of health, since its objective is also to improve the<br />

living conditions of the inhabitants, it will be essential to work on<br />

changing the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions<br />

that surround them. Municipalism is an approach used to<br />

implement social and systemic change, using the municipality as<br />

the vehicle to achieve the desired change.<br />

Definition prepared by La Liga de Ciudades de Puerto Rico<br />

13


La Liga is a membership organization that<br />

currently has 31 member municipalities. It is<br />

important to emphasize, however, that La Liga<br />

works to serve each of the 78 municipalities of the<br />

archipelago of Puerto Rico. Our membership is free<br />

of charge, and member municipalities benefit from<br />

access to exclusive activities and initiatives, as well<br />

as being part of the Board of Directors.<br />

One of the initiatives for the new year is the<br />

development of membership for municipal<br />

employees and allied entities, with the opportunity<br />

to have exclusive participation in La Liga’s future<br />

projects and programs.<br />

To learn more about<br />

joining La Liga, point<br />

your cell phone camera<br />

at the QR code on the<br />

right:<br />

AGUADA<br />

COMERÍO<br />

LAJAS<br />

PEÑUELAS<br />

VEGA BAJA<br />

BARCELONETA<br />

DORADO<br />

LARES<br />

PONCE<br />

VILLALBA<br />

CABO ROJO<br />

GUAYAMA<br />

LAS PIEDRAS<br />

SAN GERMÁN<br />

YAUCO<br />

CANÓVANAS<br />

GUAYANILLA<br />

MOROVIS<br />

SAN JUAN<br />

CAYEY<br />

GURABO<br />

NARANJITO<br />

SAN SEBASTIÁN<br />

CIDRA<br />

HORMIGUEROS<br />

OROCOVIS<br />

TOA ALTA<br />

COAMO<br />

ISABELA<br />

PATILLAS<br />

TOA BAJA<br />

= MUNICIPALITIES THAT ARE PART OF LA LIGA'S BOARD AS OF JANUARY 2022<br />

14


ANDREA P. VÁZQUEZ COLÓN<br />

Andrea has been an Associate VISTA Member in<br />

Program Development for La Liga de Ciudades since<br />

July <strong>2020</strong>. She works as a graphic designer for La Liga's<br />

publications, as well as coordinating workshops and training for<br />

the Municipal Capacity Building Institute and all things related<br />

to training and changing the narrative about municipalities. She<br />

holds a bachelor’s degree in History of Western Art from the<br />

University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Río Piedras Campus.<br />

ARIANA P. CORDERO FLECHA<br />

Ariana started at La Liga as a VISTA Summer Associate<br />

working in the development and coordination of the Sym–<br />

posium "From Resilience to Systemic Change" as well as in the<br />

management of social media. She is currently the Administrative<br />

and Programmatic Coordinator for La Liga. She holds a bachelor’s<br />

degree in Sociology from the UPR, Cayey Campus, and plans to<br />

pursue a master’s degree in General Public Health.<br />

CAMILA VÉLEZ AGOSTO<br />

Camila is an Associate VISTA Member in Program<br />

Development at La Liga. She has worked on proposals<br />

related to solid waste management in municipalities, as well as<br />

environmental benefit proposals. She is also dedicated to writing<br />

and reviewing proposals, papers, and other documents. She<br />

holds a bachelor’s degree in Methods and Techniques of Social<br />

Research and is currently pursuing her graduate studies at the<br />

UPR Graduate School of Planning.<br />

LENULISY ROSADO ESTRADA<br />

15<br />

Lenulisy provides programmatic support to La Liga as a<br />

public and environmental health worker. Since <strong>2020</strong>, she has<br />

contributed to the development of a framework for decentralization in<br />

Puerto Rico and the strengthening of La Liga’s collaborative projects,<br />

such as the social marketing campaign funded by Oxfam America in<br />

response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the municipality of Toa Baja. In<br />

addition, she collaborates on communication strategies through the<br />

design of our website and publications for social networks. Lenulisy<br />

has a master’s degree in Public Health with a specialization in<br />

Environmental Health and a bachelor’s degree in science with a<br />

concentration in Microbiology, both from the UPR.


Cristina M. Miranda Palacios is a social and<br />

community planner who currently serves as the<br />

Founding Executive Director of Liga de<br />

Ciudades de Puerto Rico.<br />

Cristina is co-founder of the Third Mission<br />

Institute (ITM) of Albizu University, where she<br />

served as Director of Planning and<br />

Development. As part of ITM's projects, she<br />

also served as Executive Director of the<br />

Municipal Alliance for Education and the Futuro<br />

Program, a collaboration that began with four<br />

municipalities and eventually grew to eight,<br />

impacting over 3,000 students in after-school<br />

programs, among other community<br />

transformation efforts through education.<br />

As part of her commitment to social justice<br />

and equity, for the past 17 years, she has been a<br />

fervent collaborator of the Homeless<br />

Continuum of Care Project in Puerto Rico), led<br />

by the Coalition of Coalitions for People<br />

Experiencing Homelessness in Puerto Rico. In<br />

addition, she collaborates with several nonprofit<br />

and community organizations in strategic<br />

planning, development and sustainability.<br />

Recent accomplishments include her<br />

selection as a member of the Puerto Rico<br />

Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on<br />

Civil Rights, as well as her position as a Global<br />

Finalist for the Ford Foundation's Ford Global<br />

Fellowship program.<br />

de Puerto Rico para la Comisión de<br />

Derechos Civiles de los Estados Unidos, así<br />

como su posición de Finalista Global del<br />

importante programa Ford Global Fellowship<br />

de Ford Foundation.<br />

Cristina completed her master’s degree in<br />

Community Social Planning and Urban<br />

Development at the University of Maryland<br />

at College Park in 2003, where she received<br />

the Lefrak Award for community service and<br />

where she also completed a Graduate<br />

Certificate in Historic Preservation. In 2008<br />

she completed a Certificate in Public Policy<br />

from the UPR and in 2015 she completed a<br />

Graduate Certificate in Community<br />

Development from Rutgers University. She is<br />

currently pursuing doctoral studies in<br />

Caribbean History and Philosophy at the<br />

Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico<br />

and the Caribbean.<br />

To learn more about Cristina's career, scan<br />

the QR code below:<br />

CRISTINA M. MIRANDA PALACIOS<br />

Founding Executive Director<br />

16


La Liga began its operation with a $200,000 contribution from the Ford<br />

Foundation, and support from Oxfam America as its fiscal sponsor for the first two<br />

years. Ford's seed funding and Oxfam America's administrative support were<br />

fundamental to the strengthening of La Liga. We are incredibly grateful to both<br />

entities, not only for their support during La Liga's beginnings but also for their<br />

continued support of our core programming and initiatives.<br />

Strengthening our administrative and fiscal capacity has been a central goal of<br />

our recent efforts. To this end, we have established important partnerships and<br />

developed links with various allied organizations.<br />

Among other successes we celebrate our designation as a 501(c)3 entity by the<br />

Federal Treasury Department, as well as securing essential funding, either as<br />

operational donations or as contracts for key initiatives.<br />

A<br />

increase<br />

Operating funds ending <strong>2020</strong> Operating funds ending <strong>2021</strong><br />

FUNDS APPROVED AND ACCUMULATED IN <strong>2021</strong><br />

Filantropía PR– Strengthening Social Justice<br />

Casey Family Programs- Systemic Access Gap Analysis<br />

Open Society Foundation- Legal Advocacy Fund<br />

Ford Foundation- Operational Support<br />

National Low Income Housing Coalition<br />

Member Municipalities- Legal Advocacy Fund<br />

OXFAM - Covid-19 Pilot Project<br />

OXFAM- Administrative Support<br />

17<br />

$0 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000


From projects developed, to financial<br />

and administrative support provided and<br />

workshops offered, every effort of La<br />

Liga is made through partnerships with<br />

organizations, entities, and foundations<br />

committed to the municipalist agenda,<br />

which is the agenda of Puerto Rico.<br />

We extend a special thanks to the<br />

following organizations for<br />

their constant support<br />

throughout <strong>2021</strong>.<br />

18


AND<br />

PROJECTS<br />

INITIATIVES


“PUBLIC<br />

NUISANCES IN<br />

THE NEW<br />

MUNICIPAL CODE<br />

I & II"<br />

"INVENTORY OF<br />

VACANT<br />

PROPERTIES"<br />

"THE LIVABLE<br />

CITY MODEL: A<br />

TOOL FOR<br />

SOCIAL<br />

INTEGRATION<br />

AND<br />

SUSTAINABLE<br />

DEVELOPMENT"<br />

"DESIGNING<br />

SAFE,<br />

SUSTAINABLE<br />

AND DISASTER<br />

RESILIENT<br />

HOUSING FOR<br />

COMMUNITIES"<br />

"WHO<br />

SUBSIDIZES<br />

WHOM?:<br />

MUNICIPAL<br />

RADIOGRAPHY<br />

PRESENTATION<br />

AND DISCUSSION"<br />

"MUNICIPAL<br />

PREPAREDNESS,<br />

EMERGENCY<br />

RESPONSE, AND<br />

MITIGATION<br />

PLANS"<br />

"DIGITAL TOOLS TO<br />

EXPEDITE<br />

MITIGATION<br />

STUDIES AND<br />

ENVIRONMENTAL<br />

PLANNING"<br />

"CLARIFYING<br />

MYTHS OF THE<br />

DEBT ADJUSTMENT<br />

PLAN AND THE<br />

IMPACT OF P.C.<br />

1003"<br />

"GENERATING<br />

FROM WASTE:<br />

ON THE ROAD<br />

TO A<br />

CIRCULAR<br />

ECONOMY"<br />

"HOW TO PUT<br />

MUNICIPAL<br />

CITIZEN<br />

PARTICIPATION<br />

INTO ACTION?"<br />

"GOOD<br />

PRACTICES FOR<br />

THE USE OF<br />

CDBG-DR FUNDS<br />

AND SAFE<br />

HOUSING"<br />

"WHY, WHAT<br />

FOR, WHO<br />

BENEFITS?:<br />

YOUTH AND<br />

PUBLIC<br />

POLICY"<br />

"SANITARY AND<br />

CLIMATIC<br />

URGENCY: NEW<br />

INTEGRATED<br />

MANAGEMENT IN<br />

SOLID WASTE<br />

MANAGEMENT"<br />

In February <strong>2021</strong>, the Municipal Capacity Building Institute (ICAMU, for its Spanish<br />

acronym) was inaugurated with the encore of the oft-requested workshop "Public<br />

Nuisances in the New Municipal Code" together with the Center for Habitat<br />

Reconstruction. Amassing an audience of over 150 people, we recognized that ICAMU<br />

would be an ideal tool for training the municipal ecosystem in various thematic axes and<br />

issues that municipalities work on daily. Throughout <strong>2021</strong>, virtual workshops and trainings<br />

were held on issues related to planning, solid waste management, environmental<br />

stewardship, disaster mitigation, access to available funds, public policies, government<br />

transparency, and more.<br />

To ensure further dissemination of these resources, a YouTube channel was launched<br />

with the recordings of the workshops along with digital folders containing accessible<br />

resources relevant to the topics discussed. We thank AARP Puerto Rico, Abruña &<br />

Musgrave, Ayuda Legal PR, Basura Cero Puerto Rico, Cambio PR, Centro CUNY, Centro<br />

para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat, CCLR, EDS, Enterprise Community Partners,<br />

Foundation for PR, Generación Circular, Impacto Juventud, Instituto de Participación<br />

Ciudadana del Municipio de Toa Baja and terraFirma Software for collaborating in the<br />

facilitation of workshops and trainings throughout the past year.<br />

21


To achieve our mission of strengthening the capacity of municipalities<br />

and communities in the archipelago, La Liga develops important publications<br />

and analyses related to public policy and the current socio political context of Puerto Rico.<br />

One of the most significant publications was the analysis of the Fiscal Plan <strong>2021</strong>,<br />

developed and approved by the Fiscal Control Board (FCB), entitled "En Arroz y Miserias..."<br />

(translated as "In Rice and Misery..."). The title is a play on words: in Puerto Rico, to say it "in<br />

rice and beans" means to explain in a simple way. Instead of rice and beans, the title makes a<br />

reference to the expected impacts of the undemocratic fiscal plan that entrenches austerity<br />

measures and increases misery for the most marginalized communities and vulnerable<br />

populations in Puerto Rico. This analysis focused on the expected impact of its approval on<br />

municipalities, communities, and public entities across Puerto Rico. Its approval<br />

demonstrated that the FCB, even without having achieved positive changes to the economic<br />

restoration of the country, maintains a threatening posture towards the organizations that<br />

make up our fiscal, governmental, environmental, academic, and social ecosystem.<br />

As part of La Liga's organizational objectives, our team developed and published a<br />

framework to evaluate decentralization opportunities in Puerto Rico. This was based on a<br />

brief historical overview of elements that have been attempted in Puerto Rico,<br />

definitions of concepts, lessons learned,<br />

achievements of other countries, and<br />

potential courses of action.<br />

Scan the QR code on the right to<br />

access all of La Liga's publications:<br />

La Liga has accessed the press to promote the municipalist agenda, and to<br />

communicate about other initiatives and work that La Liga is leading. Throughout<br />

the year, opinion columns highlighting the accomplishments of the municipalities<br />

were published in the country's newspapers. At the beginning of <strong>2021</strong>, a series of<br />

articles about the lawsuit against the Fiscal Control Board dominated the news,<br />

successfully highlighting the importance of this legal advocacy strategy for<br />

municipalities. Among these, a letter addressed to the Board was disseminated,<br />

focusing on the fact that Law 29 was not a bailout for the municipalities, but rather<br />

for the central Puerto Rican<br />

government. In November,<br />

several papers ran front page<br />

features announcing the<br />

Amicus Curiae supported by<br />

five members of the US<br />

Congress (Nydia Velázquez,<br />

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Raul<br />

Grijalva, Jesus "Chuy" García<br />

and Richie Torres). 22


In March <strong>2021</strong>, La Liga led filing of a lawsuit against the Fiscal Control Board, the<br />

Municipal Revenue Collection Center (CRIM for its Spanish acronym), the Financial<br />

Advisory Authority and Fiscal Agency (AAFAF), and the Health Insurance Administration<br />

(ASES) to determine the illegality of the withholding and collection of money owed to the<br />

municipalities because of the Board's opposition to Law 29. This law exempted local<br />

governments from paying contributions to the central government for the Vital health<br />

plan and pensions.<br />

The lawsuit seeks to sustain the illegality of the withholding of funds committed<br />

during the effective term of Law 29, even though this was later declared null and void by<br />

Judge Taylor Swain. During the filing of the lawsuit, five congress members filed an<br />

amicus curiae siding with La Liga. In it, the congress members recognize the<br />

municipalities as the main service entity for Puerto Rico's communities, emphasizing that<br />

the Board's jurisdiction should be limited to the central government and not present a<br />

fiscal risk to the municipalities. Despite these efforts, Judge Taylor Swain recently<br />

ordered the dismissal of the lawsuit in January of this year (2022). Our appellate strategy<br />

will continue to focus on the welfare of the municipalities. If you would like to stay<br />

abreast of updates on this lawsuit, scan the QR code below:<br />

23


In November <strong>2021</strong>, La Liga had the opportunity to present at an extended<br />

White House briefing, where Ms. Miranda Palacios presented on the current<br />

state of municipalities, as well as making a series of proposals to benefit<br />

Puerto Rico. During the briefing, Ms. Miranda Palacios emphasized the<br />

importance of La Liga as a key entity in the reconstruction of Puerto Rico<br />

through the municipalist agenda. The proposals submitted included: that the<br />

White House actively and vocally support the municipalist agenda, thata<br />

municipal subcommittee be created as a direct line of communication to<br />

clearly communicate the needs of the municipalities, that the effectiveness<br />

of the Fiscal Control Board under the parameters of PROMESA be<br />

honestly evaluated and that the territorial instrumentality concerning<br />

the determinations of the Board to the municipalities be clarified.<br />

Four years after the historic phenomenon that was Hurricane<br />

Maria, we worked to rethink the tragedies that it caused across<br />

Puerto Rico. Recognizing that the commemoration of this fourth anniversary<br />

should be a solemn occasion, we also considered that there would be no better way to<br />

acknowledge the passage of time and honor the 4,645 deceased than by encouraging and<br />

igniting a real conversation about what happened.<br />

<br />

What, how, why, and, most importantly, ensuring that it does not happen again – were<br />

topics covered in the Symposium: "From Resilience to Systemic Change: Puerto Rico<br />

Strengthens Four Years after Hurricane Maria." This symposium initiated an important multisectoral<br />

conversation and fostered new collaborations focused on systemic change instead<br />

of on perpetuating a resilience model based on the premise of having to survive whatever<br />

comes.<br />

<br />

This massive hybrid event consisted of a three-day agenda with 16 virtual conferences in<br />

total and two days of field visits to communities in Caguas, Río Piedras, Santurce, and Toa<br />

Baja. With academic, business, state, federal, planning, and third sector participation, La<br />

Liga concluded the Symposium with new collaborations and initiatives for projects and<br />

proposals that seek to improve and strengthen municipal welfare.<br />

Scan the QR code on the left<br />

to access the recordings of<br />

the conferences offered<br />

throughout the Symposium.<br />

24


Municipalities are the closest government entities to the community, this has been<br />

proven time and time again, most recently with their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />

With a grant from OXFAM America, and with the support of Coalición de Coaliciones as fiscal<br />

agent, La Liga launched a pilot project for the creation of a social marketing campaign<br />

focused on increasing community awareness of COVID-19 management.<br />

For this project, the Municipality of Toa Baja was chosen as the area of impact. The<br />

campaign consisted of developing, jointly with the municipal response team, a series of<br />

preventive and educational health strategies based on community input and reality aimed at<br />

preventing infection by SAR-CoV-2, virus that causes COVID-19. The strategic approach<br />

based on integrating social marketing and health communication strategies contextualized in<br />

the realities of the municipality and resourced by the local government was innovative for<br />

Puerto Rico.<br />

Transparency and accountability are part of La Liga's core values, and in collaboration<br />

with Sembrando Sentido, we launched the Transparency in Infrastructure initiative,<br />

known as CoST.<br />

With this launch, first in the Municipality of Coamo, and followed by the Municipality of<br />

Toa Baja, Puerto Rico joined an important international initiative. The main purpose of<br />

the initiative is to implement a citizen governance mechanism that protects the multimillion-dollar<br />

investments allocated for the infrastructure sector by generating greater<br />

competitiveness and efficiency, which translates into lower costs for the government and<br />

better quality for the infrastructure that is fundamental to all commercial, economic,<br />

cultural, and social development. CoST seeks to facilitate and legitimize citizen<br />

participation in the municipalities through the development and implementation of<br />

transparency and social monitoring mechanisms focused on infrastructure projects of<br />

priority for the communities, such as school rehabilitation, road construction, and more.<br />

CoST is an organization that was born in the World Bank and later became independent.<br />

It works with the government, the private sector, and civil society to disseminate<br />

information about public infrastructure projects, which helps empower citizens to<br />

demand accountability from government and business leaders who make decisions. With<br />

this action, La Liga has made Puerto Rico the first US jurisdiction to join CoST.<br />

25


At the end of the year, La Liga had the opportunity to participate in the informative<br />

public hearing convened by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, where representatives<br />

from the public, community, and private sectors discussed the failures committed by<br />

FEMA during the management and recovery process of the archipelago.<br />

Organizations such as the Center for the New Economy, Taller Salud, the Center for<br />

Puerto Rican Studies, the Center for Investigative Journalism, and others participated<br />

in the event.<br />

<br />

La Liga's presentation, delivered by Founding Executive Director Cristina Miranda<br />

Palacios, focused on the delay in the reconstruction process, caused in part by the<br />

lack of preparedness of the local and federal governments to deal with the disaster.<br />

Furthermore, the crisis that municipalities are going through because of the lethargic<br />

reconstruction process, austerity measures imposed by the Fiscal Control Board and<br />

the Puerto Rican Central government, and other concurrent factors were emphasized.<br />

<br />

In an era where information travels quickly through<br />

social networks, as an organization we recognized that a<br />

better way to advance the municipalist agenda was to strengthen our<br />

media presence. To this end, we launched our Instagram account with the intention<br />

of not only promoting workshops and initiatives, but also informing a wider<br />

audience about alternatives, models, and practices that we endorse and work on as<br />

a political organization. Also, as mentioned above, we launched our YouTube<br />

channel, a space that serves as a repository for recordings of the workshops offered<br />

through ICAMU. This is also used to provide information about our organization and<br />

participation in public forums. In addition, our web page was remodeled to increase<br />

the flow of information and accessibility for its users.<br />

Follow us on our<br />

social media:<br />

28<br />

26


NEXT<br />

STEPS


To strengthen the capacity of local governments, two important training and<br />

education initiatives will be launched: the Municipal Participation and Innovation Lab (El<br />

Lab) and the Municipal Development and Collaboration Unit (la unidá'). In its pursuit of<br />

improved quality of life in Puerto Rico, through El Lab, La Liga will facilitate<br />

participatory design processes to support innovation and adaptation that centers the<br />

role of the municipality in coordinating collective solutions, with ample participation of<br />

stakeholders. By enabling this collaboration, La Liga expects that Puerto Rican towns in<br />

need of infrastructure, services, and ongoing recovery will become better positioned to<br />

leverage the access to federal funds that municipal governments have together with the<br />

access to citizen experts and citizens’ trust that community-based organizations have.<br />

And La Liga will be there to provide support when those collaborations materialize,<br />

through La Unida’ it will accompany these public-private partnerships on the journey of<br />

identifying and applying for public funding to address public problems.<br />

These learning communities will cover topics anchored in the thematic axes of La<br />

Liga, seeking to bring together municipal teams in workshops and seminars, with<br />

particular emphasis on addressing the growing needs of our municipal governments, as<br />

well as serving as a bridge between them and the organizations that make up the<br />

municipal ecosystems.<br />

The Casey Family Programs focus on bringing about lasting improvements in the wellbeing<br />

of children, families, and the communities in which they live. As part of their<br />

initiatives, they launched a project focused on analyzing public policies that directly<br />

affect Latinx families, preventing or hindering their access to programs that benefit<br />

their well-being. To include the Puerto Rican community, the Casey Foundation<br />

recruited La Liga to conduct the study in Puerto Rico.<br />

29<br />

The project includes a comprehensive review of existing laws, regulations, and<br />

policies that impact the well-being and prosperity of Latinx families and children; a<br />

social network analysis; and an analysis of the environment and context to create a<br />

visual representation focused on the intersectionality of social dynamics and power<br />

structures in the production of public policy. In addition, the study design includes a<br />

series of in-depth interviews with participants in different sectors, including people with<br />

lived experience, as well as stakeholders in the government, non-profit, philanthropic,<br />

research, and private sectors.


Seeking to expand La Liga's network of allies, a membership<br />

model will be launched for communities, non-profits,<br />

philanthropic, academic, and other entities representing the<br />

third sector and civil society. These allies, as members of La<br />

Liga, will have the opportunity to participate in special activities<br />

to collaborate in development of strategies that are aligned with<br />

the municipalist agenda, as well as spaces for discussion and<br />

promotion of collaborations and alliances in favor of the<br />

communities of Puerto Rico.<br />

The importance of the Municipal Radiography published in <strong>2020</strong><br />

was immediately apparent upon its dissemination. Analyses of the<br />

financial statements of the municipalities, valuable information for<br />

professionals and academics who care about Puerto Rico, are almost<br />

nonexistent. Moreover, the radiography clearly quantifies the<br />

permanent damage that municipalities have suffered and may<br />

continue to suffer in the future due to the system imposed by the<br />

Central Government of Puerto Rico. For this reason, La Liga is<br />

developing a second municipal radiography entitled "Hasta donde<br />

nos dé la sábana" in Spanish, focused on the imminent risk caused<br />

by the continued imposition of unilateral measures by the Fiscal<br />

Control Board, which will potentially result in at least 43<br />

municipalities becoming insolvent in the next year or two. The<br />

radiography will further describe and detail the implications for the<br />

populations living in these 43 municipalities.<br />

30


info@ligadeciudadespr.com<br />

https://www.ligadeciudadespr.com/<br />

@ligadeciudadespr<br />

@ligadeciudadespr<br />

@LigaCiudadesPR<br />

http://linkedin.com/company/liga-de-ciudades-de-puerto-rico/<br />

Scan to visit our<br />

webpage<br />

Scan to become<br />

member of La Liga<br />

Designed by Andrea P. Vázquez Colón<br />

Translated by Samiris Suleimán Orozco and revised by Alison Chopel

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!