  Models where the baryon (B) and lepton (L) numbers are local gauge symmetries
that are spontaneously broken at a low scale are revisited. We find new
extensions of the Standard Model which predict the existence of fermions that
carry both baryon and lepton numbers (i.e., leptoquarks). The local baryonic
and leptonic symmetries can be broken at a scale close to the electroweak scale
and we do not need to postulate the existence of a large desert to satisfy the
experimental constraints on baryon number violating processes like proton
decay.
