After protests, Brazilian Senate buries congressional immunity bill

(AFP) Brazil's Senate on Wednesday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to extend lawmakers' immunity, after its advance in the Chamber of Deputies triggered large protests over the weekend in the South American country.

Known as the "armor" bill, the initiative demanded among other things that the National Congress must give authorization for one of its members to be criminal charged or arrested.

Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Sunday in several cities, carrying signs reading, "Congress, national embarrassment" to protest against what they dubbed the "thieves' bill."

Sunday's demonstrations, the largest by the left since Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to power in 2022, also took aim at a legislative amnesty bill that could benefit the opposition former president Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of plotting coup and sentenced to 27 years in prison this month.

"Safe haven for criminals of all kinds"

The author of the motion to reject the bill, Senator Alessandro Vieira, warned that the bill opened "the doors for the transformation of the legislative branch into a safe haven for criminals of all kinds."

Currently, the Brazilian Supreme Court is only required to inform Congress if a legislator is charged with a crime.

If approved, the bill would have frozen some 30 cases currently before the highest court against 108 of the 594 members of the congress, according to a count by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.