( CNN ) -- Spain has finally asked for a bank bailout from its eurozone peers , to weather the financial crisis that hampered its finances during recent months . Although Spain 's Prime Minister , Mariano Rajoy , has stressed that there are no austerity conditions attached to it , the statement from the Eurogroup made clear that supervision over the country 's budget will be strengthened . The budget deficit aims may mean the Spanish government will implement further structural reforms , such as a reducing the country 's unemployment benefits , or raising the retirement age . As a result , we may see public disaffection shifting from the streets to the political arena . Unlike other countries -- such as Greece , for example -- in Spain public disaffection with the economic crisis has not yet had a significant impact on the country 's traditional political forces . Instead , Spanish citizens have mainly channeled their anger and frustration over austerity measures through social mobilization , while the political landscape has remained virtually the same . Although there has been shift in power -- the Popular Party ( PP ) took over after general elections in November 2011 -- the political arena continues to be dominated by the two largest parties , PP and the Socialist Party , PSOE . The striking aspect of the emergence of the Spanish indignados movement was that it came about in a country which has , traditionally , had low levels of civic engagement and social participation . While the indignados have been discredited by the right-wing mass media as being a marginal force mainly followed by perroflautas ( Spanish slang to describe wandering minstrels ) , the movement -- which had its anniversary on May 15 -- has shown no signs of fading away . Indeed , a majority of Spanish citizens sympathize with its aims and support its goals . Recent studies show the indignados are not just a movement of the young and marginalized . Many participants are middle-aged , highly-educated and employed , and a majority of them consider their current financial situation relatively good . At the same time , many share a concern about their future financial situation . For a short period the indignados managed to get a reform of the electoral system , that would improve the chances of small parties to be represented in parliament , on the policy agenda . But they have not yet achieved any significant policy goal . Now , some proposals to improve democracy and control corruption have been pushed aside as focus turns instead to the deteriorating economic situation . The movement 's current demands focus on the unbalanced distribution of economic costs due to the austerity measures . This does not mean that the indignados have failed , as their most important success indicator is the activation of the protest `` muscle '' in Spanish society , particularly among the network of social organizations at the local level . But if the bank rescue results in further reductions of social welfare funds , or if it is a prelude to the bailout of the state , the government risks unleashing social protest in a way existing social movements may not be able to channel . Public discontent may then shift from the streets to the political stage . This could ruin the leverage of the traditional political forces and , in turn , the capacity of the political system to manage the economic crisis . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sandra León .
Sandra León : Spain 's political landscape has been relatively calm despite the austerity measures . But the Spanish indignados movement have gathered support in a country with low civic engagement . León says a majority of citizens sympathize with the aims of the indignados . Public discontent may shift from the streets to the political stage should this bailout not be enough .