The narrator's description of Escovar, when you first read it, seems like a normal description. But with the information given at the end it changes in meaning slightly. Escovar's character is tall, tall tends to be associated with pride. He is also thin, which tends to be associated with weak. These two descriptions of Escovar shows that the town is proud, yet it is weak against the corruption of the mayor. They can't defend themselves, (twenty dead men) Nor can they defend the town's wealth (It's the same damn thing).
The next part of his description, That mentions he has a look that rarely corresponds to the situation, this represents that even though the town's people knows that the mayor is stealing money from them they keep quiet about it. Pretend they don't know; didn't hear. They act deaf when the topic arises.
Conflict; Person vs Society
The third type of conflict, which isn't shown until the end, is the Mayor vs the people of the town. The town knows the mayor's dirty secret of taking their hard earned money but they must keep quiet. If they don't, then like the twenty dead men, they will end up dead as well. This shows a version of quiet conflict, and it brings a whole new tension to the story that wasn't previously there.