To solve the equation
\[ -23 = -\frac{3}{2} r, \]
we can begin by isolating \( r \).
First, we can remove the negative sign from both sides of the equation:
\[ 23 = \frac{3}{2} r. \]
Next, to solve for \( r \), we can multiply both sides by the reciprocal of \(\frac{3}{2}\), which is \(\frac{2}{3}\):
\[ r = 23 \cdot \frac{2}{3}. \]
Now we can calculate:
\[ r = \frac{23 \cdot 2}{3} = \frac{46}{3}. \]
Thus, the simplified answer for \( r \) is
\[ \boxed{\frac{46}{3}}. \]