The Spanish Senate has approved direct rule in Catalonia after the Catalan regional government’s parliament voted to declare for independence.
The vote by the upper house on Article 155 on Friday allows the government of Mariano Rajoy to rule Catalonia directly from Madrid.
The vote was subsequently published in the official government gazette, meaning Article 155 is now enforced.
Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, is still holding an emergency cabinet as of 17:00 GMT to adopt the first measures to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy and govern it. He is expected to make an announcement following the meeting.
“Spain is a serious country and a great nation and we will not tolerate that a few people try to liquidate our constitution,” Rajoy told journalists after the upper house of parliament allowed him to take control of Catalonia.
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Spain’s government gazette announced the passage of the Senate bill. According to the Spanish law, once legislation is published, it becomes official and “triggered”.
In an earlier post on social media, Rajoy urged “calm” across the country, even as he called the Catalonia parliament vote a “crime”.
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Article 155 of the 1978 Spanish constitution allows for the suspension of autonomy of regional governments if it “doesn’t comply with the obligations of the Constitution or other laws it imposes, or acts in a way that seriously undermines the interests of Spain”.
The Constitution states that an absolute majority must approve the article’s use.
Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid, reporting from Madrid, said the first step the Spanish central government could take after Article 155, is to dissolve the Catalan parliament and dismiss the regional president.
She said there is a “sense of urgency” in the Spanish parliament to take action and block the independence move, while describing the “apprehension” and “anxiety” in the Spanish capital.
Article 155 has never been triggered since the 1978 Spanish constitution has been passed, our correspondent noted, adding that because of its “broad” definition it is open for interpretation between the pro and anti-independence movements.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Pablo Calderon Martinez, lecturer in Spanish studies at Aston University, said the action of Catalonia’s parliament “took everyone by surprise”, and left “more questions than answers”.
Martinez said there is no real alternative than a compromise between Madrid and the leaders in Catalonia to end the “constitutitonal crisis”.
