The Brazilian Congress opened impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff  December 2, 2015. Rousseff was accused of artificially using state bank loans to make up for budget shortfalls.

But some politicians say that Rosseff's predecessors were accused of similar crimes and have all been exempted from punishment. Also, the opposition said Rousseff was trying to help ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva escape corruption charges. Controversy has sparked over the legality of the impeachment process.