Yeah, you are right. I used economic jargon without clarifying. No government ever stops printing money. Currency is always printed at the very least to replace old and worn bills. In economic speak, "stop printing money" means to quit financing fiscal deficits with expansion of the money supply. So taken literally, you are right, I misspoke. Thank you for correcting me.
But to be clear, Macri slowed down the printing press significantly from the CFK administration. That's why he borrowed. He financed fiscal deficits with borrowed money. At the same time, he attempted to close the fiscal deficits through reduced government spending. CFK financed fiscal deficits with printed money. She expanded fiscal deficits with increased government spending. She was not able to borrow in markets, because investors knew/know is was/is a common thief.
In my opinion, Macri has lost some economic credibility in the last few days. But not for the reasons written in the newspapers or on this forum. Many Argentine bonds are trading at 50% of face value, some even lower. The BCRA has spent over $10B defending the peso over the last few weeks. With that $10B, the BCRA could have repurchased and retired $20B in debt. Or it at least could have used a portion of the $10B to retire debt at significantly less than face value. This is like paying off $100 of your mortgage for $50. Who doesn't like that idea?
Discounted debt retirement may not have improved Macri's election prospects much, as only economists would understand the value of this action. But it would have put Argentina in a far stronger economic position going forward. Admittedly, about a week ago, the BCRA bought back a small amount of government debt at face value. But not enough.
