Cochapamba, Ecuador - Two candidates compete for Ecuadorian presidency in a second round of break-ins that never ran for Cochapamba. In this remote indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Highlands, their faces are nowhere to be seen. However, their eyes were staring at the Andes and other towns in the Andes, which would be the key to the April 13 election, which would keep the winners full four years.

People here are loyal to indigenous leader Leonidas Iza, who appeared on Sunday's vote but took a distant third place after half a million votes. But in April, they will have to make a decision between President Daniel Nobea or left-wing lawyer Louisa Gonzalez.

Pushed by the dissolution of the National Assembly, runoff will be a repeat of the 2023 steal election, with Noboa winning a 16-month cutoff following a wave of crimes from wealthy businessmen running for Ecuador in recent years.

Located at 3600 meters (12,000 feet) above sea level, Cochapamba is home to about 6,000 people whose livelihoods revolve around farming and selling white onions. They are all indigenous and speak Kichwa and Spanish.

Last Sunday, residents of Cochapamba went out to vote, and some walked for up to two hours to reach the polling station and vote.

While the official results of the National Election Commission have not been broken down to such a local level, the official Talli said that in Sunday's vote, the province of Cotopaxi where Cochapamba is located, where Cochapamba is located. ) voted for Noboa, with 29.3% of votes for 29.3% of indigenous leader Izza. Gonzalez ranked third with 27.7%.

In 2023, Noboa is put again against González in the second round, with more than 72% of Cochapamba voters favoring the former, a candidate they have never met before. It remains to be seen who they will support in three months.

“We thought (Noboa) was a young man and he did make a difference, but at least for me, he lied,” Fernando Perdomo, a 46-year-old dispersed government (GAD), a local authority called chapamba.

As for González, a lawyer with limited political experience, locals distrust her as the political heir to former President Rafael Correa, who ruled Ecuador from 2007 to 2017 . Amid corruption scandals absent from 2020.

Pedumo said Correa “despises the indigenous peoples,” adding that local communities are now awaiting instructions from the federal leaders of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Peoples to decide which candidate they will support in runoff.

However, Cochapamba's overall mood is disturbing - disappointing.

“I would be very disappointed if all the promises of the candidates were forgotten,” said Gloria Llugsha, 28-year-old mother of two. In her opinion, the president can only remember them when they need their support.

____

Follow AP coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean