RIO DE JANEIRO: When she was being tortured under Brazil's military dictatorship, Dilma Rousseff could never have imagined becoming the country's first female president.
But four decades on from those dark days in 1970, when Rousseff belonged to a violent Marxist underground group, she did indeed rise to the top -- only to face impeachment less than a year into her second term.
Impeachment proceedings launched in October enter their crucial phase Monday, with a vote in Congress' lower house commission.
Although non-binding, the decision sets the tone for a critical vote in about a week's time in the full house on whether to send Rousseff to trial.
Brazil's 68-year-old "iron lady" has put up a serious fight, trying frantically to repair a coalition left in tatters by the defection of the country's largest party, the PMDB.
The impeachment charges center on her government's allegedly illegal juggling of accounts to cover budget holes.
But momentum is also fueled by anger across across Latin America's biggest country over steep recession, corruption and the government's inability to deal with Congress.
Whether that's fair or not, Rousseff has already been condemned by public opinion, her government's popularity plummeting to around 10 percent since her narrow 2014 re-election win against business-world favorite Aecio Neves.
Some critics attack Rousseff for lacking charisma. Others go further, calling her the classic accidental president, a politician who doesn't like politicking.
But as Rousseff herself has pointed out, torture steeled her for tough times.
"I have come up against hugely difficult situations in my life, including attacks which took me to the limit physically," she said. "Nothing knocked me off my stride."
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