Rousseff appeals to Supreme Court on impeachment

As the 81 members of the Brazilian Senate prepare to vote on whether or not to subject Dilma Rousseff to a full impeachment trial on the charges that she illegally concealed the scale of the budget deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, Rousseff's lawyers allege bias and irregularities.

Ms Rousseff could be suspended for up to 180 days if the senators vote for a full trial on Wednesday.

“What is really happening, first in the lower house of Congress and now in the Senate, is a judicial coup by my political opponents to remove me from office”said Brazil's first female leader.

Waldir Maranhao, acting speaker of the lower house of Congress, caused fresh surprise on Tuesday when, less than 24 hours after suspending a vote in the chamber that had allowed the impeachment process to go ahead, he reversed his decision.

Previously he had argued that the 17 April vote had breached Congress rules. Members had voted overwhelmingly in favour of the impeachment process going ahead.

Earlier, Rousseff’s supporters set up burning barricades and blocked roads, causing widespread disruption across all Brazilian states.

In the meantime, Rousseff promised to fight to the end.

"I will not resign, that never crossed my mind," she said during a speech at a women's rights conference in the capital Brasilia on Tuesday.