Following today's Brazilian Senate vote, which as reported earlier was expected to vote overwhelmingly to endorse Dilma Rousseff's impeachment and did just that in a 55-22 vote, Rousseff appealed to the public in a televized broadcast and condemned the move to impeach her as a "coup" and a "farce", denying she has committed any crimes.

She was addressing the nation on TV for the first time since senators voted overnight to suspend her for budgetary violations and put her on trial after being accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014. Rousseff responded that her government was "undergoing sabotage".

In her TV speech in front of supporters at the presidential palace, Mr Rousseff said that she may have made mistakes but had committed no crimes, adding: "I did not violate budgetary laws." She said: "What is at stake is respect for the ballot box, the sovereign will of the Brazilian people and the constitution." Branding the process "fraudulent", she vowed to fight the charges against her and said she was confident she would be found innocent.

Rousseff accused the opposition of leading the impeachment because they had vehemently opposed all the advances she and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had made for the Brazilian poor and lower middle classes. After her speech she left the presidential palace and shook hands with supporters lining the pathway.

In terms of immediate next steps, the following flow chart highlights the key developments over the next 6 months.