MADRID — The regional leader of Catalonia signed a decree on Saturday to hold an independence vote, which the Spanish government has promised to block, pushing his northeastern region into a risky and direct confrontation with the central government in Madrid.

After signing the decree, the regional leader, Artur Mas, said the independence vote would show that “Catalonia wants to decide pacifically and democratically its political future.” He added, “Nobody should fear that somebody expresses his opinion by placing a vote in a ballot box.”

The vote is scheduled for Nov. 9.

Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has vowed to block the Catalan secessionist drive and to push the nation’s constitutional court to rule swiftly that such an independence vote would breach the Constitution.

Mr. Rajoy was returning to Spain on Saturday from an official visit to China. He told Spanish reporters before leaving Beijing that Mr. Mas had acted irresponsibly and “put himself into a mess,” probably because “he thought we would step back.”