Learn Spanish (Latin America): Aun cuando los bandidos estén cerca, el mercader descansará. - Even if the bandits are close, the merchant will rest.

Using the subjunctive (estén) after aun cuando shows that the bandits being close is a hypothetical or unconfirmed possibility, making the phrase mean "even if." If we used the indicative (están), it would change the meaning to "even though"—a confirmed fact, meaning the speaker knows for sure that the bandits are close right now.

Could we use incluso si here instead of aun cuando?

Yes, both can be used to mean "even if," but there is a major grammar trap! While aun cuando takes the present subjunctive for hypotheticals (aun cuando estén), incluso si strictly takes the present indicative for present or future hypotheticals. If you swapped it in, you would have to break the usual subjunctive rule and say incluso si están cerca.

Why doesn't Aun have an accent mark here?

The word aun without an accent translates to "even." It only gets a written accent (aún) when it means "still" or "yet" (acting as a synonym for todavía). Since this sentence uses the set phrase aun cuando ("even when" or "even if"), it never takes an accent.

Should cerca be plural to match los bandidos?