The article analyzes access to external credit as a tool for financing development projects of municipal governments. First, the discussion around local financial autonomy and the different international experiences are analyzed. Likewise, the general structure of municipal financing in Argentina and the resulting tensions around the idea of local autonomy are presented. Then, some instruments external to fiscal federalism that local governments in different parts of the world have implemented to finance themselves are investigated, emphasizing the analysis of sub-sovereign municipal bonds and the limitations for the Argentine case. Finally, some reflections are presented that must be taken into account to propose this type of financing strategy in the long term.