CCTV9英语新闻：Timeline of Brazil's political crisis

Here are the key moments leading to the impeachment proceedings of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. 

 

On March 4th, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rousseff's political mentor, had his house raided and was questioned by the police, as part of a probe into the state-owned oil company's corruption case. 

 

Nine days later, huge protests occurred in major Brazilian cities, calling for Rousseff's removal. Despite that, on March 16th, Rousseff named Lula as her chief of staff, evoking protests across Brazil. On March 29th, the largest party in the ruling coalition voted to leave Rousseff's government.

 

On April 17th, the lower house of Congress approved to start the impeachment process against Rousseff. And just last Friday, the Supreme Court suspended lower house Speaker Eduardo Cunha for obstructing corruption investigations. On Wednesday, the Senate started a marathon process that approved Rousseff's impeachment trial.