Thanks for the explanation of how the term “Mexican” is used where you live. This has confused me, in some of the posts that I’ve read.
In my area, most Hispanics are probably from Central and South America. There’s one little old lady that I encounter who looks exactly like a Peruvian mountain woman. (I live in the East, and I am not familiar with the tendency to refer to all Hispanics as “Mexican”).
I think it comes more naturally in a border state, even though we still have a good share of OTMs, and many native (US) born and raised “Spanish” folks in TX, NM, and CO.