Good article by Brian Winter about Brazil's current political, economic climate:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/brazil/2016-01-20/rousseff-ropes

This was a nice overview of the situation. One point not mentioned was that because of the Petrobras "Lava Jato/Car Wash" scandal, the lack of transparency has scared off much foreign investment which could have helped the economy.

I agree, the writer has got a very good grip of the country's predicament. I think that two things however could well complicate the president's situation. The first has already materialized in that the administration failed in getting impeachment proceedings expedited and ideally (for them) wrapped up before Carnaval. Naturally Brazilians think of their YE vacation plans and holidays first. By then, particularly if inflation is worse (the latest numbers seem to indicate an acceleration) as well as the unemployment numbers, then a great deal more will take to the streets, placing additional pressure on anti-impeachment factions in the Congress. And if the leader of the Senate is also implicated in the Petrobras scandal (he is already under investigation by the attorney general's office), the president's support levels in that chamber and also in the congress' largest party, the PMDB, would likely drop precipitously, quite possibly tipping the balance.