Moments ago, in the first of two closely anticipated and watched votes, a special committee in Brazil's lower house voted 38 to 27 to begin the impeachment process against president Dilma Rousseff.

The committee voted on a report presented last week that concluded Rousseff bypassed Congress in authorizing credits to mask a growing budget deficit. While the report is not binding, the vote to confirm or reject it is the first real barometer on the prospect for impeachment.

Prepared by committee rapporteur Jovair Arantes, the report says Rousseff broke budget law by signing off on expenditures that had not been previously authorized by Congress, and by agreeing to illegal loans between federal govt and state-owned banks.

A quick reminder of Brazil's current chaotis situation: as a result of an economic crisis that has plunged Brazil's economy into a deep depression, cost its its coveted investment-grade rating and led to the corruption scandal known as Carwash that has ensnared leading executives and politicians, the largest Latin Americam nation has been left deeply divided, culminating with a surge in populist anger aimed squarely at president Dilma Rousseff who has become the symbol for many of all that is broken.

However, unlike President Fernando Collor de Mello, who in 1992 was ousted by an overwhelming majority in both houses, Rousseff’s fate seems to be hanging in the balance as many centrist legislators remain undecided on whether to support Rousseff or side with Vice President Michel Temer, who would replace her and whose party left government last month.

In any event, now that a special committee has voted with an overwhelming majority to push forward, things are finally in motion and following today's vote, the full Chamber of Deputies could vote as early as April 17, either killing impeachment or setting the stage for Rousseff’s ouster in the Senate.

Impeachment would require two-thirds support, or 342 of the 513 lower-house lawmakers, to send the case to the Senate. As Bloomberg reported on Saturday, the pro-impeachment tally rose to 285 on Saturday from 274 on Friday, according to a survey by newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo, while the anti-government group VemPraRua put the count at 282. A group of Rousseff allies, including members of her Workers’ Party, said 127 lawmakers were lined up against the president’s ouster, short of the one-third needed to block her removal.

If there is a majority, and if the Senate accepts charges against Rousseff, she must step down for up to 180 days, with VP Michel Temer taking over. The Senate then holds trial, and votes whether to permanently oust president.

But for now it is up to the House vote where as Bloomberg previously reported, supporters of Rousseff and Temer in recent days have both sought to sway undecided legislators by offering government posts. They have also squabbled over procedural issues that could slow or accelerate the process. The chairman of the impeachment committee has been moving to speed up the debate, for which more than 100 speakers signed up, while government supporters are balking at the fast-track approach.

PSDB, the biggest opposition party, plans to support Temer if he becomes president, Folha de S.Paulo reported Saturday. Though PSDB won’t block members from accepting ministers’ positions, it won’t join a possible Temer administration, the newspaper said, citing unidentified party leaders who met Friday in Sao Paulo.

Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo said he could challenge the impeachment process before the Supreme Court, citing insufficient legal grounds and alleged irregularities in the committee.

Meanwhile, Rousseff, 68, who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship that ended in 1985, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said that an impeachment process without sufficient evidence would amount to a coup.

Bloomberg adds that the government seemed to have clawed back some support earlier this month, but Rousseff’s momentum “has slowed, or even reversed” in recent days, political consulting company Eurasia Group said in a research note on Friday. It put the chances of Rousseff being impeached at 60 percent.

Brazil’s agriculture federation and Evangelical legislators came out in support of impeachment on April 6. A day later, Folha de S. Paulo published fresh allegations that the Andrade Gutierrez construction company financed Rousseff’s re-election campaign in exchange for benefits. The government denied the claims.

Meanwhile, Rousseff’s efforts to bring her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva into the government to help muster support in Congress remain stuck in the Supreme Court, and have diminishing chances of being approved before the impeachment vote. In a change of opinion, chief public prosecutor Rodrigo Janot argued on Thursday that Lula shouldn’t be allowed to join Rousseff’s cabinet and thereby gain special legal privileges, because it looked as though his appointment was designed to protect him from a continuing corruption probe.

Then today, according to AP, in yet another twist in the months-long saga, the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo released the audio of an address by Vice President Michel Temer, who would take over if Rousseff were suspended. The audio, which the newspaper said was sent to members of Temer's Democratic Movement, appears to be a draft of an address that Temer would make to the Brazilian people if the impeachment process were to move forward following a vote in the full Chamber of Deputies.

In the address, Temer speaks as if he had already assumed the top job, saying, "Many people sought me out so that I would give at least preliminary remarks to the Brazilian nation, which I am doing with modesty, caution and moderation."

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In summary, while the first key step in Rousseff's ouster has been taken, there is a long road ahead for the process and Dilma will not go quietly or without a fight.