Brazil's Senate on Wednesday quashed a bid to expand criminal immunity for lawmakers after the proposal unleashed mass protests over the weekend.

A bill passed last week by the Chamber of Deputies would have allowed for lawmakers to vote by secret ballot whether or not to authorize one of their own to be charged with a crime, or arrested.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets Sunday against what they dubbed a "Banditry Bill" seeking to entrench criminal impunity for elected officials, who already enjoy certain protections for misdeeds committed in office.

The demonstrators also objected to a push for Congress to pass an amnesty law that could benefit far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced this month to 27 years' imprisonment for coup-plotting.

The amnesty is

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