Backgrounder: Chronology of Brazil's impeachment process against Rousseff

The impeachment process against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is part of a prolonged crisis in the country since she won the presidential election in 2014.

The following is a chronology of events related to the impeachment process.

-- October 2014: As a candidate of the Workers' Party (PT), Rousseff was re-elected as Brazilian president in the second round of a general election, defeating her opponent Aecio Neves from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). The opposition questioned the result at the Electoral Court, which confirmed Rousseff's victory.

-- January 2015: Rousseff started her second four-year term as president, designating economist Joaquim Levy as finance minister, who cut public spending in a bid to address fiscal and economic challenges.

-- February 2015: Eduardo Cunha, from the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) and an ally of Brazil's Vice President Michel Temer, was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house).

Maria das Gracas Foster, President of the state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileno Sociedad Anonima (Petrobras), resigned following revelations related to Operation Car Wash, an investigation into a large network of corruption within the company.

-- March 2015: Mass protests took place in the South American country's main cities against the alleged corruption and the government, and the campaign started for an impeachment process against the president.

-- May 2015: Political group Free Movement Brazil presented an impeachment application against Rousseff to Cunha, the president of the Chamber of Deputies.

-- June 2015: The Court of Auditors (TCU) presented a deadline to the government to explain the delays in payments to public banks or what was called "tax pedaling."

-- July 2015: An informant from Operation Car Wash accused Cunha of receiving millions of reais (Brazil's currency) in alleged bribes from Petrobras. Cunha announced his split from the government.

-- August 2015: Opinion polls showed that 71 percent of those surveyed rejected Rousseff's government at a time when Brazil's economy entered in recession and opposition demonstrations resurfaced.

-- September 2015: The government explained the tax pedaling to the TCU and said there was no violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Law.

Standard and Poor's lowered its credit rating and Brazil lost its "investment grade" status.

-- October 2015: Rousseff restructured the coalition government with a new majority in Congress.

The TCU recommended the Congress reject the government's explanations regarding claims of tax pedaling and a group of lawyers presented a petition for impeachment due to these irregularities.

-- Dec. 2, 2015: The ruling party's bench in the Chamber of Deputies voted in favor of investigating Cunha on suspected corruption. Later the same day, Cunha authorized the lawyers petition, beginning the impeachment process against Rousseff.

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) defined the rules that the process needed to follow in the Congress and Vice President Temer delivered a letter to Rousseff confirming that he would keep an "institutional" relationship with the government.

-- Dec. 16, 2015: Finance Minister Levy left his position and the South American country lost its "investment grade" status from credit rating agency Fitch.

-- March 4, 2016: Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), Rousseff's mentor, was taken by police to make a statement regarding the Petrobras case.

-- March 13, 2016: Mass opposition protests called for an impeachment process against Rousseff.

-- March 17, 2016: The Chamber of Deputies elected a Special Commission to analyze the process. Lula da Silva was named a minister but the justice system suspended the appointment.

-- March 18, 2016: Mass pro-government protests took place.

-- March 22, 2016: Rousseff confirmed there was a "coup d'etat" brewing against her.

-- March 29, 2016: Vice President Temer's political party, the PMDB, abandoned the government coalition, followed by other smaller parties.

-- April 12, 2016: The Chamber of Deputies' Special Commission recommended an impeachment process due to a "crime of responsibility," which was rejected by the government as it said no crime existed and the process was void.

-- April 17, 2016: The entire Chamber of Deputies approved the impeachment process, which was passed on to the Senate.

-- April 25, 2016: The Senate installed the Special Commission to analyze the impeachment case.

-- May 5, 2016: The STF removed Cunha from his position for obstructing the investigation into his alleged corruption.

-- May 6, 2016: The Senate's Special Commission recommended the impeachment process go ahead.

-- May 9, 2016: The Chamber of Deputies' Interim President Waldir Maranhao canceled the Chamber's support for an impeachment process and later revoked his own decision. However, the Senate decided to continue with the issue.

-- May 11, 2016: The Senate voted in favor of a go-ahead for the impeachment process against Rousseff, suspending the president for up to 180 days till the case is submitted to a final trial. Endi