Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo

Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo is a Contributor on The Hill, a commentator on CNN en Español as a Republican strategist and has appeared in the past on Univision and Telemundo to discuss trade. Today from DC, he runs the Hispanic Conservative and the Hispanic Leadership Council PAC.

Ivan's political experience runs deep. He has proudly led trade missions to Latin America with business and political leaders including then Gov. Jeb Bush, and was privileged to be invited to the White House to celebrate Pope Benedict XVI’s birthday on April 16th 2008. During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Ivan was a member of Mitt Romney’s Hispanic Steering Committee. On October 2011 Ivan was a recipient of a special congressional recognition for his contributions as a Hispanic American. He later joined Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign as his Hispanic Communications Deputy while he ran in the GOP primaries. In the general elections he rejoined Mitt as part of his National Finance Committee where they were tasked with raising money for the campaign. On election day Ivan served as a media surrogate for Governor Romney and participated on the first ever debate via Google Hangouts on CNN en Español. Ivan also served as the Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party’s Hispanic Leadership Council where he oversaw the statewide strategy to engage and convert Hispanic voters to the GOP.

Ivan has spent his entire career initiating, supporting or participating in many of the pressing trade and telecommunications policy issues facing our country and region during the past 20 years including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, 1992), Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR, 2005), Peruvian Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA, 2006), Chile FTA (2005), Columbian Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA, 2006), Trade Promotion Authority (TPA, 2002), Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA, 1991), Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA, 2002), The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act (S. 1033, McCain-Kennedy), The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (H.R. 1836), Florida FTAA 2004-2006, Telecommunications Act of 1996, and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act of 2006.

Ivan lives in Washington DC with his wife Martha and two children, David and Jessica.