The International Monetary Fund is an international organization created in 1945 as part of the United Nations system. Its creation was conceived at Bretton Woods, to “…regulate the rates of exchange of currencies between member countries; and it would help ensure international stability by providing loans in times of crisis in the balance of payments of member countries.” Since its creation, the IMF has acquired enormous power within the international community, notably influencing the economic policies of third world countries. Currently, the IMF has 35 advanced economy or emerging market member countries, and approximately 153 developing economy countries; for a total of 188 member countries. Developing countries are mostly the ones that constantly seek loans from the IMF for various reasons, such as when a country is in financial crisis and is unable to pay its external debt. For a country to receive a loan from the IMF, the country must agree to a set of conditionalities imposed by the institution. These conditionalities are sets of economic policies and financial measures based on what the IMF believes will help the country's economy and protect the IMF's resources. According to Peet, "the institution draws on the best of neoclassical economics, backed today by fifty years of experience in the lending industry" to create the conditionalities imposed on each country. In recent years, the IMF has been harshly criticized because these conditionalities have worsened the economic situation of many countries instead of improving them and those most affected have been the working class. The objective of this article is (1) to describe the principles, purpose and structure on which IM...... middle of document ...... these crises have been appropriated... not perfect, of course, but so far better than if the structural elements had been ignored or if the fund had not been involved.” In conclusion, the International Monetary Fund has faced much criticism as it has grown into a powerful international organization. Some have claimed that this has been destructive to the economies of third world countries. Others have argued that without the IMF, the economic situation of these countries would have been even worse. What this debate should teach us is that it doesn't matter who is right; what matters is that the conflict exists. This should be seen as a first step in recognizing that something is wrong, either in the institution itself or in the policies it implements. I believe that the institution certainly needs to be reformed. Abolishing it is not the solution.