A prominent Afro-Uruguayan, she was the first woman in South America to serve as a cabinet minister, appointed in 1968; she resigned this post following authoritarian actions by the government.

After the 1973 Uruguayan coup d'état, Roballo became the target of numerous raids by the authorities for her outspokenness against the military regime which ran the country until 1984.

Roballo died in 1996, but has been remembered by many memorials throughout the country including stamps issued in her likeness, streets and colonies named after her, as well as plazas and cultural centers.

[3][4] Her maternal great-grandfather was Genaro Berón de Astrada [es], one-time governor of Corrientes Province in northern Argentina, while her father was Uruguayan of mixed heritage, which included native Charrúa and African ancestry.

[1][3] During her childhood, the family moved to Salto, Artigas, and Palma Sola [es], where her mother had various teaching jobs and Roballo completed her primary education.

[1][3][4] An avid reader, from a young age she was a keen observer of the conditions affecting the people living around her and began to speak about alleviating poverty.

When Brum committed suicide over the coup, Roballo delivered a funeral oration defending democracy to the large crowd which had gathered.

[1] Roballo founded the magazine Mujer Batllista (Batllist Woman) in the early 1940s, which she used to put forward her political ideas.

[5] She published her first book of poems, Se levanta el sol (The Sun Rises), in 1942, which was honored by the Ministry of Public Instruction with first prize in the literary competition that year.

[7] The themes in Roballo's written works echoed her public commitment to provide empathy, comfort, and motivation, but exposed the struggle and anguish that accompany sensitivity to the social environment and the challenges of life.

[1] Her works were introduced abroad by Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet and diplomat; Alfonso Reyes, the Mexican writer and philosopher; and César Tiempo, an Argentine screenwriter.

[4] Her literary output spanned her career, with her final publication, La casa del humo (The House of Smoke), in 1992.

She also organized many public works projects including paving roads, building tunnels and creating the first master plan for the development of the city.

[1][13] She also worked on legislation to recognize unmarried partnerships, and measures to provide equal opportunities and limit exploitation of workers.

He instituted emergency rules to arrest the leaders of trade unions and suppressed left-wing political groups, prohibiting public gatherings and expanding the authority of the police to intervene.

[16] On 14 August 1968 student demonstrators, including Líber Arce, Hugo de los Santos, and Susana Pintos were murdered by police.

[1] In her early career, Roballo rarely acknowledged her African heritage, though she often was accompanied at rallies by Candombe drummers.

[21] When the dictatorship ended in 1984, Roballo again ran for the Senate as a candidate of the Izquierda Democrática Independiente [es] (Independent Democratic Left) party, which was part of the Frente Amplio, but was defeated.