As of midnight tonight, Venezuela will have a new name, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and new owners, its indigenous people, as the nation's 11 million voters appear certain to give a clear majority to a referendum, the centrepiece of President Hugo Chavez's "peaceful revolution".
The new constitution, el muchachito or "little boy", replaces the moribunda or "death-bed" magna carta of 1961. It promises health, housing, education and jobs for all while safeguarding private property, although the latter is subject to the broader "social interest".
Opponents of the constitution call it the "new moribunda," a recipe for disaster in which the state will interfere in every aspect of public life, concentrating power in the president, who has the right to dissolve the new congress which must emerge from the re-founding of the state.
An estimated half a million people turned out for the final Yes rally (organisers claimed one million), most of them dark-skinned members of the nation's underclass, estimated at 80 per cent of the population.
"This is the best Christmas present I have ever received," said Ms Maria de Jimenez, a retired telephone worker, clutching a copy of the new constitution. "My time is nearly up, but my 10 grandchildren will enjoy a better future," she said.
Mr Chavez delivered an incendiary two-hour speech, railing against the church hierarchy, big business, the country's traditional parties and other "enemies of the nation".
Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara called the Yes campaign "immoral," echoing comments from bishops who have come out against the constitution. "It seems the devil has crawled into the cassocks of some church leaders," retorted Mr Chavez, "It may be time for an exorcism," he added, to thunderous applause.
The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, the official church voice, has been more cautious than the hierarchy, calling on citizens to vote for the option which guarantees education, health and the family.
The Yes campaign received an unexpected boost from Amnesty International this week, as Venezuela was singled out as the only country in Latin America where human rights defenders recorded an improved situation this year.
Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala's indigenous Nobel Peace Prize winner, rowed in behind the constitution's recognition of indigenous autonomy, saying it was "history in the making and a dignifying way to end the millennium".
On the economic front, international investment brokers advised clients to stay away from Venezuela as the future of the economy remains bleak. Mr Chavez has pledged to support an "alternative, popular economy" which would actively encourage co-operatives and credit associations. The main pillar of Mr Chavez's planned economic recovery will be the nation's rich but corrupt oil sector. The No campaign has little street support, with car horns and cacerolazos, or saucepan-banging, the main instruments of their campaign. The Yes supporters attempted a counter-saucepan banging protest, but discovered that cheap pots make no noise.
"Think big," roared Mr Chavez, whose yobbish street- corner style is oddly reminiscent of Ian Paisley. "In 10 years time, this will be a first-world country," he said.
Mr Chavez has created a vision of a new country, where solidarity and prosperity walk arm in arm. He has raised hopes which, if dashed, will turn into a terrifying vengeance against their originator.