A film by Joāo Dujon Pereira and Denali DeGraf (2006)
La Segunda Conquista (The Second Conquest) is an independent documentary about land rights, extractive industries, and the situation of indigenous communities in northwestern Chubut province, in Patagonia, Argentina. It was filmed and edited from June 2006 to April 2007, first screened in April 2007, and has since been shown around Argentina, Australia, the US, Canada and the UK.
The film follows the stories of five families and communities in the area, as they describe the ongoing land conflicts they face. Through testimonies of individuals involved, as well as by other local experts (lawyers, journalists, community members, researchers), it shows the relationship between the various cases. The mechanisms of plunder and corruption may vary slightly from case to case, sometimes through threats or actual violence, sometimes through false paperwork, sometimes through “legal” but deceitful tactics. And the interests behind them also vary, from forestry to mining, to real estate, to tourism.
But as the film shows, these are minor variations in the structures of injustice that are stripping campesinos of their land and putting it in the hands of those who do not live on it or work it. Finally, the film addresses the growing resistance in the region, as the communities are beginning to organize in each other’s defense.