In the 2014 presidential election, President Rousseff led the Oct. 5 first round of voting by 42%. However, she faced Aecio Neves in an Oct. 26 runoff. Neves, popular with investors, was a surprise second-place finisher in the first round, coming in with 34% of the vote. In the Oct. 5 parliamentary elections, Rousseffs Workers Party won the most seats, taking 70 of 513.

Rousseff won the Oct. 26 runoff by a slim margin. She took 51.6% of the vote to Neves 48.4%. Throughout the election, Rousseff campaigned that her partys 12-year rule had helped 35 million citizens overcome poverty. However, Brazil has also seen a recession in recent years, as well as a major oil company go bankrupt, and corruption charges, all factors in making the presidential election a close one. The controversial $11.5 billion price tag to host the World Cup almost threatened Rousseffs re-election, but the event ended up being hailed a success.

Protests were held throughout 2015 against President Rousseff, calling for her impeachment, due to allegations that she had been involved with the Petrobras scandal. Rousseffs alleged involvement in the scandal includes knowledge of kickbacks and corruption from 2003 to 2010, when she was on the board of directors at Petrobras. Rousseff denied having any knowledge of the scheme and no evidence of her involvement has been found. Federal Judge Sergio Moro led an investigation, approved by the Supreme Court, into the matter.

In Aug. 2015, Judge Moro ruled that there were signs that Rousseffs former Chief of Staff Gleisi Hoffmann had received bribes. In addition, a Federal Accounts Court prosecutor accused Rousseff of delaying $40 billion reais ($11.5 billion dollars) in payments to hide the countrys poor financial situation in 2014. President Rousseff was told by the court that she needed to respond to the accusations by the following month. The new accusations, along with countrys stalled economy, increased calls for Rousseffs impeachment.

On Dec. 3, 2015, the Chamber of Deputies opened