The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were established to help countries overcome financial crises and achieve successful economic development. However, their 75-year track record shows the opposite: loans and structural adjustment policies have put poor countries in a difficult position. The debt trap has forced the Third World to focus on producing goods for consumption in the West, rather than promoting sovereignty and industry in their own countries. The development and assistance provided by the IMF and the World Bank have been anything but that. In truth, we are dealing with a history of neocolonial exploitation with shocking results.