On April 20, the National Registry of Persons (RENAP) issued a new agreement through which it repealed the charge of a fee for obtaining public information related to statistics and data included in its records. This comes amid a recommendation from the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) and follows several complaints from the media in particular, warning of a violation of the Law on Access to Public Information.

 The episode stems from August 2020 when the GuatemalaLeaks alliance submitted a request for public information to RENAP to obtain data on Covid related deaths. RENAP responded by demanding a payment of 250 Guatemalan Quetzals. In response, and after filing an appeal for review, GuatemalaLeaks, together with the organization Red Ciudadana, turned to the courts.

 For the claimants, the charge constituted an obstacle to access to public information in that it violated the free provision of information to all persons, as well as the provision that currently establishes that a request for public information cannot be subject to any demand for motive or reasoning.