This is mixing apples and oranges--
- Bonds issued by the government are paid in pesos, which the Argentine government (as a sovereign currency issuer) can control. They are thus mainly a function of fiscal policy.
- Reserves, on the other hand, are in foreign currency or assets that the Argentine government cannot issue. They are thus mainly a function of monetary policy and the results of foreign trade.
The new government can easily pay any debts (eg, bonds) it owes in pesos. The debts it owes in dollars or other currencies, however, are more complicated, and this will be the question Sturzenegger and Prat Gay need to iron out before lifting the cepo. To wit, the BCRA has ~$25.5b USD in raw reserves, but this does not include the currency swaps with China, private bank USD holdings, and pending contracts (which will include both assets and liabilities).
Macri's team has plenty of options available. First, with the lifting of the retenciones there should be a pretty hefty revenue in dollars from the sale of outstanding commodity exports (although this could be a sticky issue still). Secondly, they have already announced that they expect another currency swap with China. And lastly, since they opened negotiations with Griesa, the plan seems to be to seek a short-term ~$10b USD bridge loan. The plan here, according to Prat Gay, is that lifting the cepo will lead to a rush of USD into the banks and the problem will be solved. In short, they have a variety of weapons to choose from.
The last administration's tactic whenever their bunglings were pointed out was to say "yeah but look at the mess we inherited". I'm hoping this set will offer more positive actions and less excuses.