Francisco José López de Paz: The disaster of the SAE

We are in the 16th century. Hernán Ruiz Jiménez, who would later be called “the young man”, came from Córdoba to Seville with his family. The Town Hall wanted to complete the facade facing San Francisco Square and the Arquillo. The mayor of the time … Josep Luis de Sanz wanted to hire him but the auditor told him no, that he had to follow the procedure and contact the SAE. “But listen, speaker – the mayor told him – if you are one of the best architects in Spain, son of Hernán Ruiz, what’s more, the Cathedral Chapter will hire you to finish the Giralda. “Was it better than that?” “No!” – the listener repeats to him. “Procedures,” the manager concludes, “are procedures.”

They told Hernán about the problem and he went to the SAE office next to the museum. He was never unemployed thanks to draws from individuals and ecclesiastics. Furthermore, he had inherited from his father these ways of building inspired by classical antiquity which caused so much furore. “Name” – the official told him. “Hernán Ruiz. I’m coming because I was told at the Town Hall that they had launched a job offer for a municipal architect to finish the main facade” “Fill out the papers and show your ID very clearly, that’s the key” “What is the key – asks Hernán” “Yes. Here, when all the applications have arrived, we draw lots for the ID card number. And then we send to the Municipal Council the list of the first five out according to the order of the draw. “Will you tell me, sir, that here the selection is made neither on merit nor by experience but by drawing lots…?” This is how the Andalusian Employment Service works.

Hernán Ruiz was 17th on the list and was not included in the selection. When the mayor saw the project and after having brought in the magnificent architect from Cordoba, he went to the auditor and banged his fist on the table for the first time. We have come this far. The inspector went to the doctor of the Royal Municipal Police Corps and released him. The same thing that would have happened to Hernán Ruiz at that time to the best doctors, the great discoverers and the scientists who contributed the most to the progress of humanity… Any resemblance to current reality is not a pure coincidence…

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