Most countries just choose not to do this. They weren't forced to default. They could have chosen to monetize their debt. They just didn't choose to do that.
Re:U.S. Treasury Data Lab
by User23 on Wednesday September 15, 2021 @01:37AM
(#28535615)
A sovereign could choose to default even if they somehow had a net surplus. Because, you know, sovereign literally means you can do whatever you want up to some more powerful foreign sovereign invading, because you have a local monopoly on violence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Russian_financial_crisis
Most countries just choose not to do this. They weren't forced to default. They could have chosen to monetize their debt. They just didn't choose to do that.