Born into poverty to a family of twelve brothers in Cajamarca in 1952, Acuña pursued his higher studies at the National University of Trujillo, where he graduated as a chemical engineer.

Acuña gained political recognition when in October 2006 was elected Mayor of Trujillo, ending a forty-four year uninterrupted tenure of the Peruvian Aprista Party in the northern city.

[5] Considered a potential run-off nominee against frontrunner Keiko Fujimori, he was eventually disqualified by the electoral authorities after alleged vote-buying in a campaign trail.

[7][8] He ultimately placed seventh with 6% of the popular vote in a heavily atomized election, managing to win La Libertad Region only, although his party achieved congressional representation throughout the country.

[20] Throughout his full term in Congress, he led numerous bills regarding education business regulations, and was a member of the investigative committee's on corruption in the Fujimori regime.

[21] Upon taking office in January 2015, Acuña led diverse infrastructure programs throughout the region, and constantly clashed with the new mayor of Trujillo, a former police colonel Elidio Espinoza, an independent who defeated Alliance for Progress the year prior.

Upon registering his ticket, Acuña announced as running mates former Minister of Women and Social Development, Anel Townsend, and congressman Humberto Lay.

Acuña claimed that both authors had agreed on releasing the work together on separate authorships, but Alvarado denied any agreement of sort, and proceeded to publicly denounce him for plagiarism.

[30][31][32] Following the previous events, Acuña was accused of attempted vote-buying during a campaign trail, as he offered money to a disabled young man for his future medical operation.

Analysts viewed his barring from the election with Guzmán as a leverage for other candidates, mainly Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who managed to earn second place and qualify for the run-off against front-runner Keiko Fujimori.

[34] Although his presidential nomination was barred from the 2016 election, Alliance for Progress obtained 9.2% of the popular vote at parliamentary level, gaining 9 out of 130 seats in the Peruvian Congress.

Following the constitutional dissolution of Congress on September 30, 2019, by president Martín Vizcarra, his party obtained 8.0% of the popular vote and 22 out of 130 seats at the 2020 snap parliamentary election.

[35] Acuña has remained skeptical of running for the presidency in the 2021 general election, but keeps polling as potential nominee due to the strong popularity his party has achieved since the 2020 snap-election.

[38] He ultimately placed seventh with 6% of the popular vote in a heavily atomized election, managing to win La Libertad Region only, although his party achieved congressional representation throughout the country.

[43] During the 2011 general election campaign, he was sanctioned five times for violating electoral neutrality in favor of his son and presidential candidate, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in his position of Mayor of Trujilo.

[44] In September 2011, the Prosecutor's Office ordered an experts opinion to the accounts of the universities of César Acuña for alleged money laundering, in response to the complaint made by his own wife, Carmen Rosa Núnez Campos.

[45] In June 2012, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) fined Alliance for Progress with more than 9 million soles for having received contributions ten times greater than the allowed limit from César Vallejo University.

In May 2013, a video was released in which Acuña proposed to members of his party to "buy votes" to achieve his reelection as mayor of Trujillo, allegedly using public funds.

[53] In November 2018, Acuña testified before the prosecution on the case of money laundering, the investigations are still open, the president of the Alliance for Progress party, indicated that the transfers are legal before judicial authorities.

The acquisition of a property in the Soto de La Moraleja urbanisation in Madrid (Spain), valued at one million 200 thousand euros, is the reason for which he is being investigated.

[55] In January 2022, a judge found Christopher Acosta, his book's publisher and the director of the publisher guilty of defamation for their book "Plata Como Cancha," investigating allegations of Acuña participating in vote buying, embezzlement and plagiarism, with the judge arguing that certain allegations lacked sufficient sources and fined the entities $100,000, with the funds being awarded to Acuña.