Próspero Morales
| Próspero Morales | |
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 Secretary of Infrastructure and War |
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In office March 15, 1892 – March 15, 1896 |
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| President | José María Reina Barrios |
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Secretary of Public Instruction |
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In office March 3 – March 5, 1897 |
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| President | José María Reina Barrios |
| Personal details | |
| Died | August 17, 1898 |
| Spouse(s) | Natalia Górriz |
Próspero Morales (San Marcos, Guatemala, 1856 - Huehuetenango, 17 August 1898) was a Guatemalan lawyer who served as Secretary of Infrastructure, War and Public Instruction during José María Reina Barrios administration. Two year after being in office, Morales married the well known Guatemalan teacher Natalia Górriz. Morales resigned as Secretary on 5 March 1897 in order to run for president for the upcoming presidential elections; however, due to the failure of the Exposición Centroamericana and the severe economic crisis that Guatemala was undergoing at the time, due to the plummeting of coffee and silver international prices, general Reina Barrios suspended the elections and forcibly extended his tenure until 1902. Morales then joined the revolution that was brewing in Quetzaltenango, but the rebels were defeated on 14 September 1897. After Reina Barrios assassination on 8 February 1898, he unsuccessfully tried to overthrow interim president Manuel Estrada Cabrera–who also had served as Secretary under Reina Barrios–but was repelled by the forces of former president Manuel Lisandro Barillas.
In 1894, married Natalia Górriz, who put her successful teaching and administrative career on hold to focus on her family. In January 1897, some rebellions started against Reina Barrios; after a mild battle, a group of invaders were defeated and their leaders were taken prisoners, judged and summarily executed on the same day. The opposition press was also critical of the president, accusing him of tyranny given that he had not allowed opposition political parties to prosper.
On 5 March 1897, Morales resigned as Secretary of Public Instruction in order to run for president in the upcoming elections. Opposition newspaper La República editors accused the government–and particularly Próspero Morales, former Secretary of Infrastructure, and president Reina Barrios–of wasting the few resources the country had trying to do all their projects at once: besides the Northern Railroad–which in case of had been the only project built would have brought considerable benefits to the country–boulevards, parks, squares, public buildings, and luxurious office buildings had been built as well, not to mention the three millions pesos wasted on the failed Exposición Centroamericana.
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