Brasilia, Brazil (CNN) Dilma Rousseff could be hours away from being forced out of office -- at least temporarily. 
 
 After months of speculation, mudslinging and debate, the embattled Brazilian President's fate is now in the hands of her country's Senate, which is scheduled to vote on whether impeachment proceedings against her should begin. 
 
 Senators were on the floor Wednesday evening outlining their positions on the issue. The speech-making is expected to continue late into the evening, with a vote likely Thursday morning. 
 
 If a simple majority votes for the motion, Rousseff will be forced to leave the country's presidential palace for 180 days and face an impeachment trial. That would put Rousseff on the sidelines when Brazil hosts the Olympics in August and leave her battling to save her political future and finish out her term. 
 
 It's not looking good for the once-popular Brazilian leader, who now faces allegations that she broke budget laws. 
 
 According to Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, 50 of Brazil's 81 senators have said they would vote in favor of impeachment proceedings. 
 
 #Brazil Senate session begins an hour late - fate of president Dilma Rouseff hangs in the balance pic.twitter.com/xTyWJhxYMa — Shasta Darlington (@ShastaCNN) May 11, 2016 
 
 Not going down without a fight 
 
 Despite the looming Senate vote, Rousseff said Tuesday she will not go down without a fight. 
 
 "I am going to fight with all my strength, using all the means at my disposal," the embattled President said during a women's conference in Brasilia. "I want to assure you that for me, the last day of my term is December 31, 2018." 
 
 JUST WATCHED Dilma Rousseff: I will fight to survive impeachment Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Dilma Rousseff: I will fight to survive impeachment 10:48 
 
 Rousseff's supporters have also pledged to stand by the leader. They took to the streets in several Brazilian cities to protest what they labeled as a "coup." 
 
 A group of protesters set tires on fire and blocked traffic in Sao Paulo on Tuesday. 
 
 Her opponents quickly took to social media Wednesday as they pushed for her ouster, tagging posts with the hashtag #TchauQueridaDay -- using the Portuguese phrase for "Goodbye, dear." 
 
 Brazilians in Rousseff's camp fired back with a hashtag of their own, #TchauDemocracia, or "Goodbye, democracy." 
 
 Senate leader: Process 'long and traumatic' 
 
 At least one senator has vowed not to vote on impeachment proceedings: Senate President Renan Calheiros. 
 
 "I will not vote today," Calheiros told reporters Wednesday morning. 
 
 Calheiros said he needs to remain neutral as the Senate president, but he expressed disapproval of the impeachment process, which he described as a "source of crisis." 
 
 "I always rooted against this process reaching the Senate -- this impeachment process that is so deeply rooted in our history, that is long and traumatic and does not produce immediate results," he said. 
 
 Senate President Renan Calheiros tells journalists #impeachment decision should come out tonight, despite late start pic.twitter.com/0bGhCu5sRv — Flora Charner (@FloraCharner) May 11, 2016 
 
 How did we get here? 
 
 The bid to impeach Rousseff was launched late last year by then-speaker of the lower house Eduardo Cunha. Cunha accused the President of breaking budgetary laws by borrowing from state banks to cover a shortfall in the deficit and pay for social programs in the run-up to her 2014 re-election. 
 
 A special committee to investigate the claims was formed in the legislative chamber, which took its recommendations to the full session where an overwhelming majority voted in favor of opening impeachment proceedings. 
 
 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff Brazilian lawmakers shouted, scuffled and even sang as they debated whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff on Sunday. Over a period of six hours they eventually voted 367-137 to impeach the president. Hide Caption 1 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff Deputies of the Lower House of Congress exchange words during the vote. After the success of the motion to impeach, it will be considered by the parliament's upper house. Hide Caption 2 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff A total of 367 lawmakers in the lower house voted to impeach Rousseff, the country's first female president, by more than the two-thirds majority required by law. Hide Caption 3 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff The impeachment motion will next go to the country's Senate. If a majority approves it, Rousseff will have to step down for 180 days to defend herself in an impeachment trial. Hide Caption 4 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff Pro-impeachment supporters watch a live television broadcast as Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, himself under corruption investigation, speaks as deputies prepare to cast their votes in the impeachment process. Hide Caption 5 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff As lawmakers spoke their minds on the floor of Congress, throngs of demonstrators waited for word of the results. Hide Caption 6 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff Protesters opposed to the impeachment react as they watch the voting session on television in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hide Caption 7 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff A pro-impeachment supporter kisses a Brazilian flag while watching a live television broadcast moments after lower house deputies vote to approve the motion to continue the impeachment process. Hide Caption 8 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff Brazilian flags hang from apartments during demonstrations on the day of voting. Hide Caption 9 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff Pro-impeachment supporters celebrate after politicians vote to approve the motion to impeach Rousseff. The motion will now be brought before the Senate, the Brazilian congress' upper house. Hide Caption 10 of 11 Photos: Protests in impeachment battle against President Dilma Rousseff Protesters in Sao Paolo, opposed to the impeachment, watch the voting session on television en masse. Hide Caption 11 of 11 
 
 This comes as many of her allies are facing corruption charges in a sweeping investigation into a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme at the state-run oil company Petrobras. The investigation, known as Lava-Jato, has embroiled dozens of the country's leading businessmen and politicians. 
 
 While she isn't accused directly of profiting, Rousseff was the chairwoman of Petrobras during many of the years of the alleged corruption. 
 
 If impeachment vote passes, what next? 
 
 The expected vote is a key step in a process that was set in motion in April and could stretch on for months. 
 
 If the vote for an impeachment trial against Rousseff goes unimpeded through the Senate, she will have to step down for six months while she's being investigated. 
 
 Vice President Michel Temer would temporarily take the reins until November, when the process would return to a special Senate committee. 
 
 At that point, Rousseff would have 20 days to present her defense. Following that, the committee would vote on a final determination and then present it for a vote in the full Senate. 
 
 If the motion is approved by a two-thirds majority, Rousseff would be officially removed from office. 
 
 Attempts to derail impeachment fail 
 
 Brazil's attorney general and the interim speaker of its lower house both made last-ditch efforts this week to block the impeachment proceedings, but their efforts failed. 
 
 Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardoza accused Cunha, the lawmaker who championed Rousseff's impeachment, of manipulating the impeachment process through misuse of power. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Rivaldo: Skip the Rio Olympics Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Rivaldo: Skip the Rio Olympics 01:27 
 
 "He acted, shamelessly, to retaliate against the President, her government and her party. ... It was a clear act of vengeance," Cardozo said in an appeal he filed with Brazil's Supreme Court late Tuesday. 
 
 But the Supreme Court rejected the attorney general's appeal while senators met Wednesday. 
 
 What will be affected by impeachment? 
 
 In addition to the political crisis and corruption scandal, Brazil is facing a crippling recession, Zika outbreak and a rise in violence and unemployment. 
 
 This all comes as the country prepares to host the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games in August, the first to be held in South America. 
 
 In a recent interview with CNN's Christian Amanpour, Rousseff said she will be "very sad" if she is sidelined during the Games. 
 
 "If that happens, I will be very sad ... I would very much like to take part in the Olympic process, because I helped build the effort from day one," Rousseff said. 
 
 Rousseff was first elected in 2010 as her popular predecessor and mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's, handpicked successor. 
 
 She was reelected in 2014 by a close margin and saw her popularity drop to the single digits. 
 
 Rousseff is the second Brazilian President to undergo impeachment proceedings. In 1992, former President Fernando Collor was accused of corruption. Although he resigned before the process was completed, he was prohibited from occupying political office for eight years. 

 Photo 
 
 BRASÍLIA — After months of tirades, secret maneuvering and legal appeals, Brazil’s Senate began debating on Wednesday whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, suspend her from office and put her on trial. 
 
 The debate, followed by a vote as late as Thursday morning, is a watershed in the power struggle consuming Brazil, a country that experienced a rare stretch of stability over the last two decades as it strengthened its economy and achieved greater prominence on the world stage. 
 
 Now, those gains are unraveling. Brazil is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, huge corruption cases across the political spectrum and a bitter feud among its scandal-plagued leaders — just months before the world heads to Rio de Janeiro for the Summer Olympics. 
 
 Ms. Rousseff, who is accused of manipulating the budget to hide the depths of Brazil’s economic woes and bolster her own re-election prospects, is widely expected to be ousted by the Senate, ending 13 years of political dominance by her leftist Workers’ Party. 
 
 If she is suspended and put on trial, she would become the second of Brazil’s four elected presidents to be removed from office since democracy was re-established in the mid-1980s after a long dictatorship. 
 
 She already lost a vote last month in the lower house of Congress, which advanced the impeachment proceedings to the Senate. Powerful lawmakers fending off their own graft charges led the effort against her. 
 
 “Plainly said, this is the worst crisis in our history, with its combination of economic calamity, discredited politics and the violation of the lowest ethical standards,” Boris Fausto, a Brazilian historian, told reporters this month while summing up the country’s grim mood. 
 
 Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 Even many who want Ms. Rousseff ousted are bracing for what comes next. Vice President Michel Temer, the former ally who is poised to take over the government if Ms. Rousseff is suspended, is an unpopular figure as well, with one recent poll finding that only 2 percent of Brazilians would vote for him. 
 
 He also faces his own legal problems. An electoral court ordered him this month to pay a fine for violating campaign financing limits. The ruling could make him ineligible to run for elected office for eight years, creating an unusual situation in which a politician barred from campaigning ends up running the country. 
 
 “Temer is what we’ve got,” Mr. Fausto said. “I hope he’ll be up to the difficult and often highly unpopular tasks ahead of him.” 
 
 Fixing the economy, which may require adopting unpopular austerity measures, is just one of the challenges facing Mr. Temer, 75, a lawyer and career politician who kept a low profile as vice president. 
 
 Brazil is grappling simultaneously with the Zika epidemic, one of its worst health crises in decades; the crash of its oil industry as Petrobras, the national oil company, faces low energy prices and an enormous graft scandal; and doubts over the nation’s preparations for the Olympics in August. 
 
 But the impasse between Ms. Rousseff and her rivals has kept the government in Brasília distracted from these problems, exposing the political establishment to withering scrutiny around the country. 
 
 Ms. Rousseff, an operative in a guerrilla group in her youth, is accused of using money from public banks to cover deficits, masking budget shortfalls in Brazil’s giant federal bureaucracy. She contends that her predecessors enacted similar policies and that the effort to oust her amounts to a coup. 
 
 Still, Ms. Rousseff is rare among top politicians in Brazil in that she has not faced accusations of illegally enriching herself. An array of figures in her Workers’ Party are either in jail or under investigation on charges of graft, dealing a blow to the legitimacy of a party that had vowed to end such practices. 
 
 But fears are growing at the prospect of a government assembled by Mr. Temer. If Ms. Rousseff and the Workers’ Party shift into the opposition, they will most likely claim her ouster was illegal, and Mr. Temer’s top allies remain mired in corruption scandals as well. 
 
 Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 Several of his top advisers are under investigation, including Romero Jucá, a senator from Roraima State in the Amazon, and Geddel Vieira Lima, a former executive at one of Brazil’s largest public banks. Mr. Temer has insisted that those inquiries would not prevent him from naming the advisers to his cabinet. 

 Image caption Pablo Uchoa's father Inocencio was detained in 1968 and held in the infamous "dungeons" of the regime 
 
 On 31 March, Brazil marks the 50th anniversary of the coup which ushered in two decades of military rule. In the repression which followed, almost 500 people were disappeared or killed, and many more detained and tortured. BBC Brasil's Pablo Uchoa recalls the story of one of the detainees, his father Inocencio. 
 
 Growing up, I never saw my father as a superhero. But I knew he was a strong man. 
 
 Word had it that he had been beaten so aggressively by the military regime that his aggressors once broke a baton on his body. 
 
 I was brought up in a politicised, but otherwise ordinary, middle-class family in north-eastern Brazil. The brutal details of what happened in the torture chambers of my country were never mentioned during family events. 
 
 Revolution on the mind 
 
 My father, Inocencio, was one of 14 surviving siblings born into a humble family. Noticing his love of and aptitude for studying his parents sent him to a religious school, as they had the best reputation. 
 
 But by 1965, when he was admitted to university in Fortaleza, his interest and passion had shifted away from his studies and towards politics. 
 
 A year earlier, he had watched as army tanks occupied the streets of Brazilian cities and deposed the leftist government of President Joao Goulart - an event which had left a lasting impression on him. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 "We entered university as students, but over the course of the years we were hardly concerned with finishing our studies anymore," my father recounted in a recent documentary about political prisoners, A Mesa Vermelha (The Red Table). 
 
 "I was not (interested) in the slightest, I wanted to make revolution." 
 
 Torturous nights 
 
 Upon seizing power in 1964, the military regime - fully supported by the US - promised swift action to bring "order" back to a country it perceived as slipping towards communism. 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Joao Goulart was deposed in a coup in 1964 
 
 But four years on, not only was the regime no closer to handing power over to civilians, it was ready to ramp up repression. 
 
 In March 1968, 18-year-old Edson Luis, a high-school student, was shot at point-blank range by the police during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro. 
 
 In October, hundreds of students were arrested during a meeting in the town of Ibiuna. About 70 student leaders were indicted. 
 
 Among them was the vocal president of the students' union at the Federal University in north-eastern Ceara state: my father. 
 
 Before the year had ended, the military government had issued Institutional Act 5, which disbanded Congress, suspended habeas corpus for political crimes, and stepped up censorship. 
 
 It is this period of my father's life which remained murky to me for many years. 
 
 Painful memories 
 
 It was not until recently that I first heard his account of the nights he was left standing handcuffed to his cell bars, purposely being deprived of sleep. 
 
 Now, Brazil is facing its truths for the first time Inocencio Uchoa, Detainee of Brazil's military regime 
 
 Or the night when he and a few other comrades were taken on a long truck ride down to a deserted beach. 
 
 There, they were lined up and subjected to a mock execution, his life flashing before his mind's eye as armed men cocked their weapons, aimed... and were told to stop. 
 
 Opponents of the regime were subjected to harsh physical ordeals. 
 
 One of the infamous torture methods consisted of leaving prisoners hanging upside down from a pole for hours, heels and wrists tied together in a position known as the "parrot's perch". 
 
 Many prisoners were also subjected to electrical shocks to their finger tips, genitals, and wherever else the sadistic imagination of their torturers would choose. 
 
 My father, conscious of the fact that hundreds of people who were tortured did not survive, deliberately underplays the brutal beatings he received. 
 
 He spent a year in detention, and was lucky to be released for a few months before his sentence was extended by another year. 
 
 Clandestine life 
 
 During his release, he fled from the city of Fortaleza to Rio de Janeiro, where he joined my mother, Angela. 
 
 Image caption Inocencio Uchoa and his wife Angela during their honeymoon, before his sentence was extended 
 
 Image caption Pablo Uchoa's older brother Marcelo was born while his parents were living in hiding 
 
 There they lived in hiding for almost a decade. 
 
 My brother and I were born during this clandestine time. My brother was named Marcelo, which was also my father's alias while in hiding. 
 
 In 1979, Brazil's military government passed an amnesty law which made it possible for my family to return to Fortaleza. 
 
 But the same amnesty law also shielded those who had committed human rights violations from prosecution. 
 
 Both my parents were highly active in the campaign demanding citizens be able to cast a direct vote in presidential elections. 
 
 Hope amidst repression 
 
 They taught us to pin our hopes to the political struggle. 
 
 Image caption Pablo Uchoa (in his father's arms) on his birthday 
 
 Like many of his generation, my father is still reluctant to describe in detail what happened in the regime's dark chambers. 
 
 It is painful, he tells me, and "society needs some time to digest it". 
 
 After the return to democracy in 1985, "our logic was to help strengthen the unions, civil organisations, fight for the Constituent Assembly, for the vote," he explains. 
 
 "There was a sequence of events that didn't allow us to talk about torture too much," he adds. 
 
 There were practical reasons, too. 
 
 A recent search through declassified documents held in the National Archives shows that the secret services continued to keep an eye on him at least until 1989 - a full decade after the amnesty law was passed. 
 
 It is only now that my father feels the time has come to open up. He has requested to be granted the status of former political prisoner, not to claim financial compensation but to gain the recognition he is owed. 
 
 He has also been sharing his experiences with a recently created truth commission. Unlike some similar commissions elsewhere in the world, Brazil's truth commission does not have the power to seek prosecutions. 
 
 The amnesty law, passed in 1979, remains in place, meaning that neither military officials accused of torture nor left-wing guerrillas accused of violence will face trial. 
 
 Looking back at the decades which have passed since the coup, my father says that "everything has its moment". 
 
 "In 1984, we were still coming out of the dictatorship. Ten years later, we didn't want to talk about it. We talked about it a little in 2004." 
 
 "Now, Brazil is facing its truths for the first time." 

 Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff attends the opening of the National Conference of Women, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The impeachment proceedings against Rousseff took another hairpin... (Associated Press) 
 
 Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff attends the opening of the National Conference of Women, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The impeachment proceedings against Rousseff took another hairpin turn Tuesday after the acting speaker of Congress' lower house Waldir Maranhao put the impeachment... (Associated Press) 
 
 Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff attends the opening of the National Conference of Women, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The impeachment proceedings against Rousseff took another hairpin turn Tuesday after the acting speaker of Congress' lower house Waldir Maranhao put the impeachment... (Associated Press) Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff attends the opening of the National Conference of Women, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The impeachment proceedings against Rousseff took another hairpin... (Associated Press) 
 
 SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is facing possible impeachment by Congress, with the Senate expected to vote Wednesday on a measure to suspend her. The effort comes amid an angry public mood over the South American nation's worst recession in decades and a big bribery scandal at the state oil company Petrobras. Yet, it is not tied to either of those. The Associated Press explains what's behind the movement to oust her, and how it could play out: 
 
 ___ 
 
 WHAT IS ROUSSEFF ACCUSED OF DOING? 
 
 She is accused of breaking fiscal laws by shifting around government funds to plug budget holes. Opposition parties say sleight of hand accounting allowed her to boost public spending to shore up support. Rousseff denies any wrongdoing, saying she didn't do anything that was not common practice in all prior administrations. She further argues that she isn't being charged with a crime, which should be the basis for any impeachment. 
 
 ___ 
 
 WHAT WAS THE FIRST STEP OF IMPEACHMENT? 
 
 Last month, the Chamber of Deputies voted 367-137 to send the impeachment measure to the Senate. The overwhelming favorable vote added momentum to the impeachment push. The Senate had been seen as friendlier to Rousseff than the lower house and more likely to reject impeachment, but the lower chamber vote seemed to change that dynamic. 
 
 ___ 
 
 WHAT'S THE LATEST? 
 
 If a simple majority of the 81 senators vote in favor Wednesday, and several counts by newspapers suggest that will happen, then Rousseff will be suspended and Vice President Michel Temer will take over. The Senate will then have 180 days to conduct a trial and vote whether to permanently remove Rousseff. If that happens, Temer would serve out her term, ending Dec. 31, 2018. 
 
 ___ 
 
 COULD ANYTHING STOP THE PROCESS? 
 
 The government and opposition parties have filed appeals to Brazil's highest court on many aspects of the process, so the possibility exists that the court, or even individual justices, could intervene. On Monday, the lower house's acting Speaker Waldir Maranhao annulled the chamber's April vote in favor of impeachment, arguing there were irregularities and it had to be re-voted on. However, under pressure from his party, he did an about-face Tuesday and rescinded his annulment. 
 
 ___ 
 
 HOW DO ROUSSEFF'S SUPPORTERS AND DETRACTORS CHARACTERIZE THE SITUATION? 
 
 Government supporters call the impeachment push a coup because Rousseff has not been charged with any crime. They say Brazil's traditional ruling class has been unnerved by the social movement under Rousseff's Worker's Party over more than a decade in power and is seizing the opportunity to take back power. Opponents say the administration's maneuvering of funds was illegal and an attempt to mask problems in Latin America's largest economy, such as huge budget gaps that have surfaced over the last year. They say impeachment can't be considered a coup because it's allowed in the constitution.
– Last month, Brazil's Congress voted to start impeachment proceedings against its beleaguered president, Dilma Rousseff. It's now come down to the country's Senate, which will decide Wednesday if she'll be suspended and put on trial in what the New York Times calls a "watershed" vote in a nation beset by a terrible economy and rampant corruption (she says it would be a "coup," as she hasn't been charged yet with a crime). A simple majority of the 81 senators is all that's needed to suspend her, per the AP, leading the way for VP Michel Temer to take over for now. The Senate would then have 180 days to hold a trial and cast a decision on whether to make her temporary ouster permanent, in which case Temer would stay in office until her term comes to a close at the end of 2018. And CNN notes it doesn't look good for Rousseff: Per a survey published in a Brazilian newspaper, of those 81 senators, 50 have said they'd be in favor of impeachment. "Plainly said, this is the worst crisis in our history, with its combination of economic calamity, discredited politics and the violation of the lowest ethical standards," a Brazilian historian told journalists earlier in May, per the Times. The country is also struggling with the Zika virus and preparation for this summer's OIympic Games in Rio. Rousseff herself is accused of covering up budget deficits by playing a sort of shell game with money from public banks. But despite the dire straits, not everyone's celebrating her possible removal, with some fearing impeachment would be "undemocratic." Temer's ratings are also in the toilet, with just 2% of citizens in a recent poll saying they'd pick him as president. Not that Rousseff seems ready to give up. "I am going to fight with all my strength, using all the means at my disposal," she said Tuesday, per CNN. If she is indeed ousted, she'd be the second of Brazil's presidents to suffer that fate since the country broke away in 1985 from its 20-year military dictatorship, the BBC notes.