It may be noted, in the light of subsequent controversies, that his actual service as vice president is little reported on or analyzed.
When President Juan María Bordaberry decided with the Military Forces to dissolve the Parliament in June 1973, Sapelli resigned, as he did not agree with this decision that began the long period of civilian-military rule by decree in Uruguay (1973–1985), widely described by observers as a dictatorship.
It would be fair to state that Sapelli's resignation is given far more analysis than his actual service as vice president.
Some observers would argue that Sapelli's action in dissociating himself with Juan María Bordaberry in 1973, under whom he had been serving, demonstrated himself to be a figure of constitutional principle.
Thus his legacy is many-faceted, with the (in the past) long ruling Colorado Party (Uruguay) somewhat belatedly holding him to be a figure of principle, while ironically celebrating him as one who caused the office which he held to go into abeyance for over a decade.