Image copyright AFPThe impeachment process against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff appears to be back on track after the acting speaker of the lower house of the Brazilian Congress reversed his own decision to annul the impeachment proceedings against her.
Brazil"s Senate now is again on course to vote on 11 May on whether to launch an impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff for allegedly manipulating government accounts.
Millions of Brazilians have called for her to be thrown out of office. Here we take a closer look at the problems in Brazil and the details of the impeachment proceedings.
What is Ms Rousseff accused of?
President Rousseff is accused of violating fiscal laws by allegedly using funds from state banks to cover budget shortfalls, ahead of her re-election in October 2014.
She is alleged to have juggled public funds to make her government"s economic performance appear better than it was to increase her chances of a second term.
Her critics say she violated Brazil"s financial accountability laws and should be stripped of her office.
Ms Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing and says the impeachment proceedings are tantamount to a coup d"etat.
Who wants her gone?
The petition to impeach President Rousseff was made by three lawyers, including 93-year-old Helio Bicudo, a former member of Ms Rousseff"s Workers" Party turned opposition activist.
Mr Bicudo said the Workers" Party had gone from being "a socialist party created to help people to serving the interests of a few who seek power".
Their petition was accepted by the then-speaker of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha.
Mr Cunha, a former ally of Ms Rousseff, has become one of her fiercest critics.
Critics of Mr Cunha say he is a political opportunist who is only trying to get his PMDB party into power.
They point to the fact that under Brazil"s constitution, Vice-President Michel Temer – who is also from the PMDB party – would become acting president if Ms Rousseff were to be suspended or impeached.
They also say that Mr Cunha lacks credibility because prosecutors have accused him of taking $5m (£3.5m) in bribes from companies seeking to secure contracts with state-oil giant Petrobras.
He has denied the charges.
What do Brazilians think?
Ms Rousseff"s approval ratings have plummeted from their all-time high of 79% in March 2013 to about 10% in March 2016.
There have been mass demonstrations in major Brazilian cities demanding that she resign.
But there have also been smaller rallies in her support.
Many Brazilians say they are fed up with the high levels of corruption in Brazilian politics.
But with some of the politicians next in line to succeed Ms Rousseff also under investigation for either alleged mismanagement or alleged corruption, no party seems untouched by the allegations.
What has happened so far?
The lower house of Congress voted on 17 April on whether impeachment proceedings against Ms Rousseff should go ahead.
In a late-night session, 367 out of 513 lawmakers voted in favour, comfortably reaching the two-thirds threshold needed for the matter to be passed on to the Senate.
A vote in the Senate was scheduled for 11 May.
But on 9 May, lower house Speaker Waldir Maranhao threw the proceedings into disarray when he annulled the 17 April vote saying there had been procedural flaws.
He ordered that the Senate vote be postponed until a new vote had been held in the lower house.
However, just hours later he went back on his own decision and revoked the annulment without citing any reasons.
What happens next?
The Senate looks set to go ahead with its vote on 11 May in a session scheduled to start at 09:00 local time (13:00BST).
Each Senator who wishes to will be given a limited time to speak. Then, an electronic vote will be held.
If a simple majority of the Senators vote in favour, Ms Rousseff will face an impeachment trial.
She will be suspended from office for the duration of the trial, which could last up to 180 days.
The trial will be presided over by the head of the Supreme Court, Ricardo Lewandowski.
At the end of the trial, the full Senate will vote on whether they find Ms Rousseff guilty or innocent.
If two-thirds of the Senate find her guilty, she will be removed from the presidency permanently and barred from running for public office for eight years.
What are the key numbers?
In the Senate, more than half of the Senators will have to back the impeachment trial for it to go ahead.
There are a total of 81 Senators, but Senate Speaker Renan Calheiros is only expected to cast his vote if there is a tie.
Rousseff under pressure
Lower house votes for impeachment
367
votes for Yes
137
votes for No
7 deputies abstained in vote to send motion to the Senate
81 members of the Senate will vote on whether to launch trial
180 day limit for trial – Rousseff would be suspended during hearings
Reuters, AFP Reuters
If the impeachment trial proceeds, it will take 54 senators to impeach Ms Rousseff.
Who would replace Ms Rousseff if she was impeached?
Under the Brazilian constitution, Vice-President Temer is set to take over as interim president if Ms Rousseff is suspended.
However, Mr Temer himself is also facing impeachment proceedings over the same allegations of manipulating government accounts as Ms Rousseff.
The second-in-line to take over from her was until recently House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is being investigated over allegations of taking millions of dollars in bribes.
But on 5 May, Mr Cunha was suspended from his post for allegedly intimidating members of Congress and obstructing a corruption investigation against him.
Next in line is Renan Calheiros, head of the Senate. But he, too, is under investigation in connection with a massive corruption scandal at state-oil company Petrobras.
All three, who are from the PMDB party, deny the allegations against them.
Could it all just go away?
Yes, if fewer than half of the Senators vote for the impeachment trial on 11 May, the proceedings stop and Ms Rousseff remains in power.
Also, if the trial proceeds and she is found not guilty, she will return to office.
She will also have a chance to appeal should the Senate impeach her, which she has already said she plans on doing should the process go that far and the vote go against her.
Could Brazil"s President Dilma Rousseff be impeached?
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