Brazil's lower house president Eduardo Cunha has opened impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff.
The move is based on allegations that Rousseff broke the law in managing last year's budget. A special committee with members from all parties will decide on the merits of the request. Two-thirds of the votes of the chamber are needed to suspend the president pending a 90-day trial by the Senate. Rousseff has denied any involvement in corruption schemes, and listed all the wrongdoings for which Cunha is being investigated. Despite re-election last year, her popularity has slumped amid a corruption scandal involving the state-owned oil giant, Petrobras.