Patricio Segura, journalist who defended Patagonia’s rivers, died of hantavirus, aged 54

Patricio Segura spent years dissecting HidroAysén's case for five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers, reading filings and translating their consequences for residents of Chile's sparsely populated Aysén region. He was both reporter and organizer, working with CODESA and Patagonia Sin Represas while insisting that outside attention not override local decision-making. The dams were never built.

After that fight, Segura turned the same method on salmon companies polluting the fjords, mining operations abandoning contaminated sites, and land speculators carving estates into unregulated plots. He also criticized wealthy conservationists who bought land or pushed protected areas without involving local communities, calling the pattern “green Monopoly” across a three-part series. His journalism relied consistently on official records, court rulings, and company statements rather than sentiment.

Born in Iquique and trained at the Universidad Católica del Norte, Segura settled in Coyhaique in 1995 and wrote for local and national outlets, including 15 years contributing to Patagon Journal. His final column, published weeks before his death, examined Indigenous ecological knowledge dismissed for generations as superstition. He died on August 21st, aged 54.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.