REUTERS
Soon after the vote at the regional parliament, the Senate – Spain's upper house – made the unprecedented step of approving measures allowing the Spanish government to impose direct rule over Catalonia, according to the BBC.
There were 214 votes in favor and 47 against, the BBC reported.
Mr. Rajoy is now expected to hold a cabinet meeting and decide what measures to take.
It could include the firing of Catalan leaders, and the Spanish government taking control of the region's finances, police and publicly owned media.
As UNIAN reported earlier, on Friday afternoon, Catalan MPs voted for independence by a margin of 70 votes to 10.