Spain has reached the moment it has both anticipated and dreaded since a controversial referendum on Catalan independence was held on Oct. 1: a complete state of limbo and deep uncertainty about its future.

The Catalan crisis escalated dramatically on Friday when the region’s parliament voted in favor of independence just before the Spanish Senate approved direct rule from Madrid. The government stripped Catalonia of its autonomy and took charge of its government, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced the dissolution of the regional parliament, the removal of the Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, and called for snap local elections.

After Oct. 1, Puigdemont held off on a declaration of independence, asking instead for dialogue with Rajoy, hoping Rajoy would agree to greater autonomies and allow him a way to save face. Rajoy refused, instead insisting Catalonians back fully away from their bid for independence.

Ultimately, Puigdemont sent the decision about whether to declare independence to the Catalan parliament. On Friday, they made their choice. And the government made theirs.

And now? It is unclear whether the Catalan government will voluntarily give up its powers or whether officers from the national guard will have to remove them from office forcibly. A tough crackdown could risk a repeat of the violent scenes that played out on Oct. 1, the day of the referendum. But it seemed unlikely that members of the Catalan government who have fought so hard for independence would simply acquiesce to Spanish government forces.

Both sides will need to tread carefully if violence is not to escalate the way it did after the referendum. The violent way the Spanish government reacted to the Catalan independence vote was interpreted as a sign of weakness heightened by an acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation. That sense of threat is heightened by fears of a potential ripple effect. In strongly decentralized Spain, multiple autonomous regions such as the Basque Country could follow suit and pursue their own independence from the rest of the country.

The Catalonia experiment could open a Pandora’s box if it is emulated elsewhere in the EU. The Flemish independence movement in Belgium could attempt to organize a similar independence referendum. Moreover, the Scottish independence movement is already rallying to demand a new referendum. These examples may spread across Europe and to other regions of the world. As such, the UK, US and Germany said they would not recognize Catalonia’s independence declaration.

Regions having different ethnicities or languages should not have complete independence from the nation states of which they are a part since this would lead to thousands of new countries if every ethnicity or racial minority decided to have its own independent state. This would throw the world into turmoil and back to the Dark Ages.

Madrid cannot allow itself to be pigeonholed into negotiations that could cause other Spanish regions to pursue the same path or give legitimacy to something that has been deemed unconstitutional.

Nevertheless, there are cases that may require a different approach in conjunction with the nation state. The solutions may vary from semi-autonomy to a form of federalism. However, handling such issues with an iron fist will reap the reverse results of what was intended.

The Spanish government must seriously reconsider its strategy in handling the most pressing political situation in the country since the Spanish Civil War. It needs to change its strategy to keep the Spanish state united. The handling of the Catalonia referendum was nothing short of disastrous, devoid of political tact or prudence. It should not happen again.