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The Catalan government canceled plans Tuesday to hold a referendum on independence from Spain amid growing pressure from Madrid.

Despite the setback, Catalan leader Artur Mas vowed to take a more incremental approach towards independence, one that falls within the boundaries of Spanish law. His commitment reflects a resurgence of secessionist sentiment among Catalans disillusioned by economic stagnation across Spain and Madrid鈥檚 refusal to grant them more autonomy.

Mr. Mas announced Tuesday that the Nov. 9 vote would be replaced by a looser 鈥� and largely symbolic 鈥撀犫�渃onsultation of its citizens鈥� on the same day, Reuters reports. He said that holding such an informal ballot would not violate the Spanish constitution.

Mas said legal and political opposition from Spain鈥檚 central government made a referendum impossible. The country鈥檚 Constitutional Court decided unanimously last month to hear the government鈥檚 case against the referendum, a decision that suspended the vote while the court deliberated.

Although far from a full-on breakaway vote, the consultation could serve as a useful tool to gauge Catalan support for independence. Mas called it a 鈥減reliminary鈥� ballot, the Associated Press reports, insisting that an official vote would still happen later.

"It means there will be polling stations open, with ballot boxes and ballots," Mas said. "It will depend on the people for a strong enough participation to show that people here want to vote."

The questions on the ballot will remain the same: should Catalonia be a state, and, if so, should it be independent?

In its court challenge, Madrid said an independence vote would violate a constitutional provision under which only Spain's national government can hold such referendums.

Even if the Constitutional Court were to allow an independence referendum, the vote would be non-binding 鈥� unlike the one held in Scotland last month.

Although the Scottish referendum failed, it jolted other independence movements, from Tibet to Flanders. But few aspiring secessionists have moved as quickly as those in Catalonia, who called for a referendum last month.

Catalonia, which has 7.5 million people, is a wealthy region in northeastern Spain with its own language and culture, as well as Barcelona FC, one of Europe's most storied soccer clubs. With an economy roughly the size of Portugal鈥檚, the Guardian reports, Catalonia has long been an engine of the country as a whole. Such economic disparities have fueled long-held enmity over Madrid鈥檚 fiscal policies. As the Guardian reports:

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the cancellation of the Catalan vote was 鈥渆xcellent news,鈥� the New York Times reports.

鈥淪pain is a democracy and an advanced country, and to comply with the law is an obligation of everybody,鈥� Mr. Rajoy said Tuesday at an economic conference in Madrid.