Far-right protesters gathered outside Monica Oltra’s house in masks from the movie "Scream" Wednesday night in Spain. Oltra is the vice president and spokesperson for the government of Valencia, an autonomous body within the country of Spain. Tensions in Spain are high as the country navigates what to do about Catalonian independence.

The Catalonian region voted to break away from Spain on October 1 in a referendum outlawed by Spain. Spain’s police attempted to stop the election in areas, causing widespread violence. The far-right protesters outside Oltra’s home were advocating for Spanish unity.

The Spanish supreme court deemed secession illegal. Catalonia has not officially declared independence, but has asked to negotiate the separation with Spain. Catalonian President Carles Puigdemon threatened Thursday to declare independence if Spain will not come to the table and discuss a deal for the region to secede.

Minutes after Puigdemon’s threat, the Spanish government declared that it will invoke article 155 of its constitution, allowing the central government to take over the Catalonian government.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s cabinet will meet Saturday to discuss what the plan will be for how exactly it will invoke article 155, according to CNN Thursday. The plan will then be presented to the Senate. The country has never invoked the constitutional article.

“Despite all our efforts and our will for dialogue, the fact that your only answer is canceling our autonomy indicates that that you do not understand the problem and do not wish to talk,” said Puigdemont in a statement Thursday.

The Catalan government has pointed to a mandate from its people, because 90 percent of the voters favored secession in its referendum. But only around 40 percent of the electorate participated — the central government advised that people stay away.

Spanish democratic government is young. The new constitution was ratified only in 1978, after the death of long-time dictator Gen. Francisco Franco.

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